Worse than anti-maskers? At least someone wearing a valved mask is reducing the risk that he/she will get COVID in the first place and, thus, become a spreader. Masks that don't filter exhalations can still contribute to reducing R0.
Anti-maskers mostly don't acknowledge COVID as a risk. Valve-wearers do acknowledge that COVID is a risk, but choose to disregard others' health anyway. One is dumb, but the other is malicious.
there's also people who wear valved masks and don't know about their ineffectiveness.
and then there's people who rage at others for wearing valved masks, even if the valves are properly capped. My wife's had to deal with a few dickheads like that.
> welter of vendors hawking KN95 masks, a Chinese-made equivalent that researchers say is less effective. Citation? Ther actual written standards of N95 vs KN95 are very similar, and if anything KN95 is probably slightly better. To meet KN95, the mask must be shown not to let air pass around the edges even while doing vigorous exercise, whereas N95 has no such requirement. This is notable in the shape of N95 and KN95…
As the downvoted comment explains, there's good quality masks coming out of China and there's tons of questionable quality masks. Differentiating between the two is difficult if not impossible. Personally I am using some Chinese made masks every now and then from a reasonably well known company, but they are CE certified FFP2 masks. Still prefer big brands when I can get them though, but they're still ridiculously ex…
CE, as far as I can tell, is self certified. Meaning that any company can simply register in the EU and slap the logo on their product. Otherwise, in the US, the same thing happens with FDA registration. Mask companies claim FDA approval when they mean that they simply have registered their product. Registration does not imply approval or certification, its means that the company declares its selling goods of a certain type. I’ve had the issue of mask sellers even provide bogus registration information for unrelated product categories.
> welter of vendors hawking KN95 masks, a Chinese-made equivalent that researchers say is less effective. Citation? Ther actual written standards of N95 vs KN95 are very similar, and if anything KN95 is probably slightly better. To meet KN95, the mask must be shown not to let air pass around the edges even while doing vigorous exercise, whereas N95 has no such requirement. This is notable in the shape of N95 and KN95…
> Citation? Ther actual written standards of N95 vs KN95 are very similar, and if anything KN95 is probably slightly better. To meet KN95, the mask must be shown not to let air pass around the edges even while doing vigorous exercise, whereas N95 has no such requirement. In my experience, actual KN95s have extensive leakage, especially around the nose. One factor may be that Western faces and Asian faces are differen…
I have 3 different brands of what are claimed to be KN95 masks. All do not fit in different ways. All use plastic nose bends, ear loops and either air comes out sides, chin, or nose area. I have 3M trifold N95s from before the pandemic and those fit perfectly without significant effort. The nose area uses metal and dense foam to ensure seal. I think the main seal issue with KN95s is that they are thin, flimsy and are missing some basic features like the foam, metal nose piece and head band.
This guy isn’t hustling as hard as he should be. If you can’t get deals because of the old boys club of buyers and suppliers you gotta do some guerrilla marketing. Learn which hospitals are struggling with masks. Lease a bunch of U-Haul/Ryder trucks and fill them with masks. Park them in front of the hospitals with massive banners on the side: “50,000 made in USA n95 masks inside. Call 555-555-5555” Pretty soon you’l…
> you gotta do some guerrilla marketing Like getting a piece in the nytimes? > Or start selling direct to consumer using marketplaces like Amazon. Per the article, most consumer destinations ban any mask advertising because of scalping.
I'm sure you're aware -- but I was very surprised to find out -- that the European CE certification mark was _quite_ so similar to the younger China Export Mark: https://www.ybw.com/vhf-marine-radio-guide/warning-dont-get-...
Also note that it’s an urban myth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export
I searched for the N95 masks online for months without success - Ordered 20pc box from demetech and the us mask company referenced in the article within 5 mins of reading it.