There have been a number of news articles in the past few days advocating the use of N95 mask,
I did a little work on it and will try to do a summary below. I am not going to link each sentence but the links are in the collection of notes below the summary or in the links at the bottom of each set. If you find the notes confusing just read the linked articles.
Biden's 100-day challenge - "Biden ask Americans to wear masks of their choice"
Despite Biden saying "mask of their choice", Fauchi saying the general public does not need to wear a N95 and the CDC still advocating that N95 mask be conserved for Emergency workers due to short supply, a flurry of articles have been published calling for the average person to use a N95 mask. CBS going so far as to title the article "Where to find an N95 or high-filtration mask for Biden's 100-day challenge". Some sources directly linked to a supplier others did not.
The cost of N95 mask before the pandemic was 50 cents, now it ranges from $1.50 to $5 due to short supply.
Those promoting the N95 talks about how better filtration protect you and how the mask fits.
There is also information comparing Electrostatic mask to N95 with emphasis on how the latter is more comfortable and easier to breath through. 3M sells them for $15, filters sold separately. There is comparison of the KN95s from China, the KF94s from South Korea, and the KN95 just to name a few. One site suggest “double-mask” using a surgical mask and a cloth mask. “The surgical mask gives you good, certified filtration, while the cloth mask on top helps improve the fit,”
I am not disputing the value of N95 mask, but as with everything related to COVID 19 reading these articles leads to confusion. We have been told since April 2020 (before that mask were not recommended at all) that the cloth mask would adequately protect us, now that supply is meeting demand we are finding out that the cloth mask are not sufficient protection. If one was hoping that information related to the pandemic was going to clarify at some point it is quite clear we have not reached that point. There is a clear lack of leadership and the resulting confusion is one of the very sad parts of this story.
While a typical cloth mask is expected to capture about half of the respiratory aerosols released when a person talks or just breathes, high-filtration masks like N95s filter 95 percent, Allen wrote. Two people wearing N95s results in a 99 percent reduction in potential exposure.
Abraar Karan and Dr. Ranu Dhillon, are pressing for a national initiative that would distribute high-filtration masks, such as N95s, to every household in the United States.
Before the pandemic, N95s cost about 50 cents and were easy to manufacture, according to Allen. “We could reduce exposure by 99 percent for what should be $1 a mask,” he wrote. “(Prices are higher now because of the failure to produce an adequate supply.)
It’s not just about N95s. Those may not work in every situation
During a Wednesday night town hall on CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a top medical adviser to President Joe Biden on COVID-19, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the former infectious disease chief for Massachusetts General Hospital, were asked about the push for better masks. Both doctors said the general public doesn’t need to wear N95 masks.
5/ For 3rd point, I agree that N95s are hard to breathe in for long periods But most people though would only need to wear for shorter periods (eg, grocery store) & there are more comfortable options such as KF94s, elastomerics & others close to NIOSH approval
Until there is federal leadership for expanding access to the high-filtration masks and better guidance for their use, Allen wrote in his op-ed that if you can’t find a better mask to “double-mask” using a surgical mask and a cloth mask. “The surgical mask gives you good, certified filtration, while the cloth mask on top helps improve the fit,” he wrote. “Research shows this can achieve greater than 90 percent filtration.”
Where to find an N95 or high-filtration mask for Biden's 100-day challenge
Because N95-approved masks remain in short supply, however, experts still recommend that they only be used by health care providers
An average member of the public can't do a fit test, that's why we've been hesitant to recommend that the public wear N95s," Ranney added.
Brian Wolin, whose work as a chiropractor has slowed since the onset of the pandemic, has been selling NIOSH-approved N95 masks through his company, Protective Health Gear, based in Paterson, New Jersey. Initially, his goal was to help meet hospitals' masks needs. He's now urging the general public to wear the respirators, too.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also approves the use of elastomeric masks, calling them "equivalent protection" to N95 masks.
Given that the quality of KN95 masks is wildly inconsistent, experts in the U.S. are leery of them, particularly those sold on platforms like eBay and Amazon.
Biden, ask Americans to wear masks of their choice
White House press secretary Jen Psaki showed off her bright white N95 mask - Psaki said after removing her medical-grade mask and before turning to questions.
The N95 mask, which costs roughly $5, also fits securely to the face, eliminating most of the leakas But not all masks provide equal protection.
Depending on the fabric and number of layers, homemade and simple cloth masks have a range of effectiveness that can be as low as 26%, which leaves the wearer vulnerable.e that may occur with a loose-fitting cloth or paper mask.
Some experts like Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School physician Dr. Abraar Karan have been advocating for public use of N95 masks from the start of the pandemic. In an interview with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Karan outlined why N95s are critical at this stage of the pandemic. "If for four weeks the country essentially wore these masks in those risky settings like that indoors, what kind of difference do you think it would make?" Gupta asked. "This would stop the epidemic," Karan responded.
Some virus-carrying particles are small enough to travel through or around lower-quality masks, making the wearer vulnerable to inhalation of viral particles.
Dr. Gupta on Covid-19: This is the worst it's ever been
"encouraging Americans to wear higher-quality masks is a simple step that might make a difference."
The biggest problem is lack of supply.
Earlier this week, Germany and France mandated that all citizens wear high filtration masks like the N95 in all public places.
"An N95 that's well-fitted clearly is the best that you can do," National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Friday.
Bill Nye the “Science Guy” said that the best test for mask efficiency is when you are in doubt try to blow a match out...if you can the mask doesn’t work. Easy peasy.
N95-I used to wear those for grinding concrete, OSHA requirements in US, hard to seal around the edges, to stiff and hard to shape, like wearing half a volley ball on your face, concrete/silica/drywall dust is super fine and always found its way inside making you look like you just snorted coke or something, I don't see it stopping anything that's as small as a virus, just my 2 cents worth!
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Mask as a collector
Posted by Daniel H on January 29, 2021, 3:14 am, in reply to "Re: Some notes on the N95 Mask" Edited by board administrator January 29, 2021, 7:46 am
Thanks Lars, first hand experience, the most valid information. One of the quotes from the articles is "An average member of the public can't do a fit test, that's why we've been hesitant to recommend that the public wear N95s,"
I am looking at mask as collectors. You put one on and go out into the world and collect whatever is in the air, then you put that mask in your purse or pocket or car or take it home and put it on the kitchen counter until the next time you need it.
When you do that you are taking all the virus that you filtered out of the air and moving it into your world where it infects everything it touches.
What should be happening is that mask should be thrown away or put directly into a bowl of soapy water and cleaned. It should be treated as if it has the virus.
What is happening to most is they take the same mask they wore yesterday and go out and collect more stuff out of the air and this cycle repeats until the mask is visibly dirty and probably extremely contagious.
Personally I have one of the mask that Mary Jo made, I wear it when I need one and have never washed it. Since I don't wash it I would be better off having a box of cheapo s (like the ones they handed out when this pandemic first started) so that I throw the one I used today into the trash, wash my hands and be done with it. The next time I need a mask I take a new one.
I think there has been too much emphasis on wearing a mask and not enough emphasis on being aware that it is a collector and should be treated as if IT has the virus.
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Re: Mask as a collector
Posted by Scott on January 29, 2021, 9:30 am, in reply to "Mask as a collector"
Under the N95 versus KN95 - Both masks cover your nose and mouth. N95 masks loop around your head and neck, and many KN95 masks loop around your ears.
Under the N95 versus Surgical N95 Masks - There are two types of N95 masks
A general observation - this is a page of information on one topic of many regarding COVID, it is an overwhelming amount of information on top of information overload and is one sign of just how ####ed up the response to COVID is.
Scott, thanks for posting this info on N95/KN95 masks - how to use them & tell them apart, what to look for in fakes, where you can buy them, etc. Very useful - I've bookmarked it for reference.
Thanks for the info update on masks, Daniel. Definitely lots of info out there to read. One thing I was curious about was your statement:
"We have been told since April 2020 (before that mask were not recommended at all) that the cloth mask would adequately protect us, now that supply is meeting demand we are finding out that the cloth mask are not sufficient protection."
I might have missed it, but I don't ever remember hearing any health professional (at least here in Canada) advising that cloth masks will adequately protect you. I understood that they were/are definitely way better than nothing, but not to kid yourself about their efficacy, i.e. that they cut down your risk (and also to others somewhat) but don't eliminate it. For that, you'd need to step up to an N95, as has been recommended for a long time. I've certainly been under no delusion about cloth masks and how well they work. But as I say, perhaps there were some people that claimed this. Did you believe this to be true until these recent articles, D?