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

Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 232 posts

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#111

Post by tasha0663 »

dv_dt wrote: post #52
cjonas wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is spot on. I'm really hoping omicron will be the wave that finally helps achieve some level of "herd immunity". It's sad that we had the opportunity to do so via vaccination but failed to capitalize. However a variant with high transmission and low chance of severe symptoms is the next best thing

There likely is no herd immunity to be had. Omicron infects those with previous delta infections, and there are cases being studied further from South Africa of omicron cases getting reinfections of omicron. I think our best chance is faster vaccine cycles and better targeting of the sequences to impede transmission.

A week or two ago they were saying Omicron might confer Delta immunity. Don't overlook that part.

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#113

Post by dundarious »

Victerius wrote: post #13
khuey wrote: post #6

The 3M Aura N95s are pretty comfortable and cost a couple dollars each at Home Depot. They're also pretty good about directing your breath away from the top so your glasses won't fog up when wearing them.

I don't wear glasses, but an issue I've noticed while wearing N95 masks is that my eyes start crying. I've thought it could be caused by the warm breath being directed upward toward my eyes.

That sounds like you have a fit issue. At least that's my guess, since I can't relate. I've worn Auras and glasses to the cinema many times.

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#114

Post by GeekyBear »

robbrown451 wrote: post #68
GeekyBear wrote: post #21

Scientists spent several years trying to convince the powers that be that Covid spread was airborne. >In an open letter published today (July 6 2020), 239 scientists from 32 countries urge the World Health Organization and other bodies to address the potential for airborne transmission of the coronavirus. The authors write that a growing body of evidence suggests “beyond any reasonable doubt” that the virus spreads i…

Part of it is the pre-Omicron, it took more virus to typically infect people. So the more typical masks helped a lot. Now even a tiny bit can easily infect, so aerosol (as opposed to droplets) was not nearly as big an issue.

Regular cloth masks do not filter virus floating in the air you breathe and they never did.

Here's one of the scientists from President Biden's Covid advisory council being interviewed on PBS last year:

> I have had concerns that date back to april of 2020 about the concept of masking.

Needless to say it's a political hot button beyond anything I've ever seen in public health, and yet at the same time i think we've all done a disservice to the public.

When you actually look at face cloth coverings, those cloth pieces of hang over your face, they actually only have very limited impact in reducing the amount of virus that you inhale in or exhale out.

In fact in studies that have been done show that if an individual might get infected within 15 minutes in a room, by time and concentration of the virus in the room, add a face cloth covering you only get about five more minutes of protection.

I've been really disappointed with my colleagues in public health for not being more clear about what can masking does or does not do.

On the other hand if you use the n95 respirators and fit them tight to your face, you can actually spend 25 hours in that same room and still be protected.

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/do-masks...

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#115

Post by kspacewalk2 »

frogpelt wrote: post #57
daveevad wrote: post #31

> N95s aren't regulated for children, so if a mask says it's an N95 for kids, don't trust it. This makes me think we're still floundering at the basic protections. Our kids' school in the Bay Area recommends N95s for kids which, if this statement is true, don't exist.

From the beginning it has been obvious that the decision makers did not know what to do about this pandemic. I am not convinced that lockdowns and masks have decreased the positive cases based on comparisons between places that were heavy on lockdown and mask mandates and those that weren’t. Almost no one is wearing N95 masks. And many of those who wear masks only wear them some of the time or incorrectly. On a fligh…

Masks are our "doing our part" symbols, the Covid ribbon if you will. The science on anything other than N95 masks is flimsy, but it's low-effort and low-cost, so why not. It feels like better than nothing, it probably is, so we go along with it.

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#116

Post by jorblumesea »

fallingknife wrote: post #2

I used to work in the oilfield. We had to be clean shaven on site because in an emergency we may be required to use masks, and your face needs to be clean shaven to form a seal. That's how things are done when there is a real safety risk. The lack of CDC guidance on this point speaks volumes as to how serious this is.

It speaks to the politics of it more than the science.

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#117

Post by dataflow »

ebrewste wrote: post #38
colechristensen wrote: post #28

I really don’t see the point unless you’re immune compromised or at some other high risk. Omicron is the evolutionary result you wait for, better at spreading and less health impact so it significantly outcompetes other variants (it has, something like 95% of infections). Peak omicron is coming withina master of days or already passed across the US. It’s virulence is such that you can only delay not expect to forever…

There are no vaccines for those under five years old. It appears it’s too much effort for everyone wear a mask until we get a vaccine for all. I used to think that this was how most people thought and behaved, but now it is confirmed clearly for me.

"Vaccine for all" is a pretty unclear and unmotivating goal. (And I'm inclined to say it wasn't what the goalposts originally were to begin with, but I don't have links to back up my memory.) There have always been and will always be people who can't get vaccines even if they want to, ranging from everything related to medical reasons (adverse reactions, etc.) to social ones (e.g., parents won't let them get vaccines) to others. How long do you want to wait around for a miracle vaccine to come that everyone can get? At some point you have to put a threshold on the percentage of the population you're willing to leave unvaccinated before you can go back to normal. Whether it should be 70% or 90% or 99% I don't know, and any discussion on whom to "leave behind" on vaccination is bound to make people angry, but whatever it is, it can't be 100%, or you will never move on and return to normal life.

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#119

Post by josephcsible »

soperj wrote: post #105
glofish wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no worth refuting because you have zero evidence that they work. All the empirical evidence (like the epidemic curves in countries that do require N95) points that they don't.

I'm sure doctors wear them just for show... :/

There's a difference between "doesn't do anything" and "isn't going to stop you from catching COVID eventually".

Re: Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

#120

Post by scoot »

GeekyBear wrote: post #21

Scientists spent several years trying to convince the powers that be that Covid spread was airborne. >In an open letter published today (July 6 2020), 239 scientists from 32 countries urge the World Health Organization and other bodies to address the potential for airborne transmission of the coronavirus. The authors write that a growing body of evidence suggests “beyond any reasonable doubt” that the virus spreads i…

> Scientists spent several years trying to convince the powers that be that Covid spread was airborne.

Several months, perhaps? The article you link to and the letter it references are both dated July 6 2020. Even now COVID-19 has only existed for a couple of years (not several).

It is impossible for anyone to have spent several years (by July 2020) doing anything relating to a specific virus or the consequential disease 7 months after the first known infection.

Post reply on HN