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

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

#161

Post by nradov »

highwind wrote: post #104
glofish wrote: post #61

Quoted post unavailable.

I just checked the data from https://covid19.who.int/ and Austria had 93 cases per 10,000 last week where as USA had 164 cases per 10,000. Which seems like a significant difference. I don't know if Austria mandates masks but your last sentence doesn't seem to hold up according to WHO. I know South Korea mandates masks and they had 5 cases per 10,000 last week. :)

The case numbers are meaningless due to differences in testing rates. They don't tell us anything reliable about which strategy is more effective. The actual infection numbers are way higher because most people never get tested. The only numbers that are even somewhat comparable between countries are hospitalizations and deaths.

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

#162

Post by [deleted] »

dredmorbius wrote: post #153
colechristensen wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is it’s too late, the peak already happened. You can’t slow the spread because the peak infection rate is already here and population dynamics are going to limit it now. Good times for advice like this for masking were a month ago and a year ago. It is time to admit defeat and act like it’s too late for those kinds of growth mitigations.

There are places which have not yet peaked, or have not yet started. In the US, a few (mostly east-coast) states have peaked. West, central, and mountain, and south, not so much. Given limited services and long distances in rural states, masking would be highly advisible. (Numerous highly-advisable actions have, of course, been soundly rejected.) Both the practice and empirical data on its efficacy would be useful in…

[deleted]

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

#163

Post by alfor »

jorblumesea wrote: post #46

It's mind blowing how 3 years into a pandemic, we're just having the conversation about N95 and mask fit vs kn95 vs cloth mask. What a huge miss in public health. Should have been done summer 2020. The most effective, cheapest solution was just to wear a properly fitted n95. Sure, vaccines good, retrovirals, yes, but this should have been done long ago. Given the airborne and aerosolized nature having a real mask wou…

There is also many simple things we could have done to reduce covid effects: vit D Vit C quercetin Sauna/hot shower/simulated fever reduce BMI sun exposure cardio

source: Medcram https://youtu.be/vN30emwcNS4

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

#164

Post by Misdicorl »

GeekyBear wrote: post #151
Misdicorl wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 33% efficacy improvement seems great to me for such a simple, easy, cheap, and accessible countermeasure.

So when you send a child to school for the day, they are only going to be there five minutes? >Fitted particle-filtering masks like N95s are up to 75 times more effective at preventing infection with COVID-19 than surgical masks, according to a study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.axios.com/n95-mask-protection-covid-958039c9-07f...

How in the world did you get to this retort from my statement?

My child is too young to go to school. If my child was school age I'd likely unenroll this semester. If that somehow were not an option I'd send with an n95. Are you satisfied?

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

#165

Post by tasha0663 »

TylerE wrote: post #67
glofish wrote: post #61

Quoted post unavailable.

> FP2 or N95 do not work either. You can't stop an airborne virus with a mask. Bullshit. Not even worth refuting someone so far removed from reality.

"Won't refute" is as good as "can't refute". Resorting to rude language and dismissiveness is a weak posture.

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

#166

Post by MrMan »

ars wrote: post #127
kspacewalk2 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It's basically the same as the security theater at the airport - it makes you feel like you have control over something you don't actually control.

its all the diseases besides Covid that masking helps. I think its great from a public health POV, despite being a bit annoying.

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

#167

Post by tasha0663 »

mfwit wrote: post #76
glofish wrote: post #61

Quoted post unavailable.

I guess I can stop wearing this mask when I spray paint too, it makes it so hard for me to breathe.

Have to admit it was nice to have a ready supply of them when I was clearing my drier exhaust duct the other day...

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

#168

Post by nradov »

pugworthy wrote: post #149
yosito wrote: post #139

N95s are effective, but I really don't understand the endgame of healthy, vaccinated people wearing N95s at this point. I know there are benefits in certain high risk situations, but covid is going nowhere, are we really gonna spend the rest of our lives wearing masks everywhere? At a certain point, we just need to accept that life comes with risks and we can't avoid them all, and trying to just ruins our ability to…

It goes two ways - you spreading it, and you catching it. From the spreading perspective, even if you are healthy and vaccinated, you might have it and you might be spreading it. Especially with omicron variant. And from the catching perspective, even if you're careful, vaccinated, boosted, etc. you still can catch it and get sick. Maybe it's not going to kill you, but it turns you into a potential spreader.

Everyone will catch it. At best wearing masks will only delay that a little. Fortunately the vaccines and other therapies are pretty effective at preventing severe symptoms.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646

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

#169

Post by nradov »

dredmorbius wrote: post #153
colechristensen wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is it’s too late, the peak already happened. You can’t slow the spread because the peak infection rate is already here and population dynamics are going to limit it now. Good times for advice like this for masking were a month ago and a year ago. It is time to admit defeat and act like it’s too late for those kinds of growth mitigations.

There are places which have not yet peaked, or have not yet started. In the US, a few (mostly east-coast) states have peaked. West, central, and mountain, and south, not so much. Given limited services and long distances in rural states, masking would be highly advisible. (Numerous highly-advisable actions have, of course, been soundly rejected.) Both the practice and empirical data on its efficacy would be useful in…

Wastewater monitoring data shows that the peak was probably a few days ago in the SF Bay Area. Other areas may lead or lag by a few days.

https://covid19.sccgov.org/dashboard-wastewater

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

#170

Post by colechristensen »

dghughes wrote: post #98

The CEO of my local provincial health authority Dr. Michael Gardam had some comments on N95 masks. He said visitors to the hospital here were asked to remove their N95 masks and were given medical/surgical masks instead. Partly due to not knowing how old or contaminated the masks were of visitors but also for mask performance issues. Dr. Gardam said, paraphrasing, N95 are good at filtering when you breathe in but whe…

Surgical masks are orders of magnitude worse at filtering particles and designed to protect people who are open on an operating table from surgeon sourced droplets.
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