Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

nature.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 176 posts

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#111

Post by murgindrag »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #101
nprz wrote: post #74

Someone made an interesting point that we got rid of cholera by drinking cleaner water and that we'll get rid of Covid by breathing cleaner air.

You won't often catch covid from stray particles but from the person breathing next to you, which these filters can't help. This study was in a hospital where everyone is wearing serious PPE, so its a super edge case to get rid of covid in the air because the main use case of catching covid has been handle by plain old PPE. This doesn't have sweeping applicability. It won't stop covid among the general population. It…

As far as I can tell, COVID has two predominant modes of spread:

- Extended time indoors, with high viral loads. It spreads ridiculously well with no protection (even among the vaccinated).

- Isolated superspreader events, where one person infects many, even with distant contact.

Filters would seem to target the latter more than the former.

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#112

Post by notatoad »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #101
nprz wrote: post #74

Someone made an interesting point that we got rid of cholera by drinking cleaner water and that we'll get rid of Covid by breathing cleaner air.

You won't often catch covid from stray particles but from the person breathing next to you, which these filters can't help. This study was in a hospital where everyone is wearing serious PPE, so its a super edge case to get rid of covid in the air because the main use case of catching covid has been handle by plain old PPE. This doesn't have sweeping applicability. It won't stop covid among the general population. It…

>You won't often catch covid from...

how do you know? it seems like most cases are attributed to the nebulous "community spread" and nobody is really sure who they're coming from or how we're catching it. maybe we are getting it from the person breathing near us - if masks help, i don't see a reason that improved air filtration wouldn't.

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#113

Post by kadoban »

gpm wrote: post #90
kadoban wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ones I have are HEPA and the fan speed is still variable, and very quiet on low.

Can you recommend the model you have? The one I have is loud enough on it's lowest setting that I don't like leaving it on in the background :(

Sure, ya it's the Winix 5300. Bit confused on the price though, I remember it being significantly cheaper than the prices I see for it now. I do like it though (one note: I never use the "plasma wave" or whatever that is, just the filtering).

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#114

Post by murgindrag »

dukeofdoom wrote: post #61

So who makes a good room air filter? I have a dozen container ships go by, a few hundred meters away from my window a day.

I was surprised by the quality of the Coway Airmega 200M. Good reviews, but looked sketchy:

- Super-quiet

- Sensor does actually speed it up with even trivial amounts of pollution. You sneeze in the same room, or spray some hairspray, and woosh.

- Washable prefilter, carbon filter, HEPA filter

I have a super-high-end air filter from 2-3 decades ago, and I'm surprised by the progress. The cheap 2020 unit is better.

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#115

Post by drzaiusapelord »

notatoad wrote: post #112
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You won't often catch covid from stray particles but from the person breathing next to you, which these filters can't help. This study was in a hospital where everyone is wearing serious PPE, so its a super edge case to get rid of covid in the air because the main use case of catching covid has been handle by plain old PPE. This doesn't have sweeping applicability. It won't stop covid among the general population. It…

>You won't often catch covid from... how do you know? it seems like most cases are attributed to the nebulous "community spread" and nobody is really sure who they're coming from or how we're catching it. maybe we are getting it from the person breathing near us - if masks help, i don't see a reason that improved air filtration wouldn't.

Because understanding how viruses spread is a solved art. None of this is "unknown."

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#116

Post by DonHopkins »

user743 wrote: post #110
DonHopkins wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There's no shortcuts for those who refuse masks and vaccines. Just urns and gravestones.

Or an immune system... or therapeutics...

No horse parasites, or malaria, or places where the ultraviolet sun don't shine...

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#117

Post by overton »

makomk wrote: post #43
overton wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Early on in the pandemic, the Canadian IPAC (Infection Control and Prevention) establishment came down hard against theories of airborne COVID transmission, at first even going so far as to not recommend masking. Even now that the science of airborne transmission has been established, they're waging a rearguard battle to obfuscate/deny it and airborne protections such as better ventilation and masking. If you go to a…

Airborne transmission and the usefulness of filters still doesn't seem that clearly established - this study didn't find that much virus in the air even without the filters, and most of the real-world transmission seems to involve people who were directly exposed to virus particles before they even had a chance to go through a filter, via standing next to someone or directly in an airflow path coming from their direc…

That's certainly the dominant narrative, but it flies in the face of superspreader events where it appears that one or a few people infected hundreds. Did they directly breathe on everybody they infected?

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/outbreak-at-quebec-city-gym-link...

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6919e6.htm

https://elpais.com/especiales/coronavirus-covid-19/a-room-a-...

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#118

Post by throwaway984393 »

nostrebored wrote: post #98
Gibbon1 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ending the pandemic is totally in the interest of the children.

Aside from extremely poor studies about long covid in kids: why?

Ending the pandemic is in everyone's interests, as it would help repair the economy. Kids would be included in that as the economy changes how adults are able to care for kids.

Kids have been separated from their parents due to increased evictions, their parents may not be able to work which means less money for food/clothing/services/healthcare, their parents & extended family are dying, their education has been impacted, and everyone has been going crazy from being cooped up with their families & not being able to play with friends or do extracurriculars.

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#119

Post by dragonwriter »

overton wrote: post #117
makomk wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Airborne transmission and the usefulness of filters still doesn't seem that clearly established - this study didn't find that much virus in the air even without the filters, and most of the real-world transmission seems to involve people who were directly exposed to virus particles before they even had a chance to go through a filter, via standing next to someone or directly in an airflow path coming from their direc…

That's certainly the dominant narrative, but it flies in the face of superspreader events where it appears that one or a few people infected hundreds. Did they directly breathe on everybody they infected? https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/outbreak-at-quebec-city-gym-link... https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6919e6.htm https://elpais.com/especiales/coronavirus-covid-19/a-room-a-...

> Did they directly breathe on everybody they infected?

Maybe they coughed over shared food/drink trays.

Re: Real-world data show that filters clean Covid-causing virus from air

#120

Post by walterbell »

404mm wrote: post #33
throwaway984393 wrote: post #15

You can build your own high-flow HEPA filter for about $45: 1x 20-inch box fan ($20) 1x 20x20 MERV-13+ MPR-2400+ HVAC air filter ($20) 1x roll of duct tape ($2.50) Air particle meters and other testing show they work just as well as big expensive machines (it's just the filter doing all the work). This is indeed a dirt cheap way to improve overall health.

Go with MERV-17 - 20 to achieve HEPA-like filtration.

Any recommendations on retail sources for MERV-17+ filters?
Post reply on HN