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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

#51

Post by colechristensen »

linsomniac wrote: post #42
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…

Dude, honestly, going out shopping during the cold and flu season without a mask, seems a little gross. And, at least around here, it's super cold and flu and covid season right now...

Why? I’m a living organism, we get diseases. If we don’t get enough of them we often get other diseases. I’ve gone out in public my whole life in all seasons and am not disgusted by a little infection threat, it’s what being alive is.

If you want to wear a mask, go ahead, you do you. But the time is quickly approaching where a government telling me I have to is going to be far beyond their legitimate purview.

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

#52

Post by dv_dt »

cjonas wrote: post #47
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…

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.

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

#53

Post by toast0 »

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…

I'm in Washington state and seeing that the hospitals are out of capacity again; national guard coming in to help and procedures deferred for a month per the governor. I don't know how it looks in other states.

Whenever hospitals start deferring procedures, it's not great for health outcomes. One might hope that one outcome of this pandemic is more spare capacity in hospitals, but that's going to take a long time, if it happens.

On a personal note, I don't like being sick, so if I can delay or prevent that, wearing a mask isn't awful. And I don't like large gatherings, so I'm not missing out on much by avoind those.

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

#54

Post by josephcsible »

linsomniac wrote: post #42
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…

Dude, honestly, going out shopping during the cold and flu season without a mask, seems a little gross. And, at least around here, it's super cold and flu and covid season right now...

We've been afraid all along that people would try to make masks a forever thing, and saying that not wearing a mask is gross is a big step in that direction.

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

#55

Post by goodside »

NDizzle wrote: post #41
04rob wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has been studied. A beard does compromise the seal, but to a lesser extent on n95s than in other masks: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34006963/

0 to 10mm!? Some study. That’s barely a beard. Loses 40% effectivenes at 10mm.

No, that's the figure for KF94 and KN95 masks. For N95s it's only about a 20% loss of FFE.

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

#56

Post by robbrown451 »

dredmorbius wrote: post #40
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 remain benefits: - Hospital capacity is limited, staff burnout is real, and delayed treatments for non-Covid conditions are occurring. Given Omicron's tremendously fast spread, slowing spread even slightly helps. - Infection isn't an all-or-nothing strategy. Innoculum, that is, the amount of virus you're exposed to, matters, and a smaller innoculum may reduce severity of symptoms. - There remain many individual…

"Though Omicron's severity is lower, it is not zero. "

There isn't a zero risk of any number of more dangerous things. This is no longer high risk, at all, for reasonably healthy people who are vaccinated and boosted. (those who aren't are foolish)

I'm willing to wait out the surge, but after that, I am hoping those in my community (bay area.... which doesn't have overcrowding of hospitals because of high vaccination rate) are ready to get rid of the masks and get on with normal life.

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

#57

Post by frogpelt »

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 flight I took recently, they asked a man to remove his N99 mask in favor of the standard issue, light blue surgical mask you see everywhere.

Masks to me are symbolic. People wear them to show that they care and that want to obey the pleas to “do your part”. But with the implementation I’ve seen they probably haven’t helped much.

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

#58

Post by quanto »

Fit is critically important. There is no point in having an advanced filter material if the mask fit itself is leaking air everywhere.

>"An N95 is more protective because it has a better face seal in general than a KN95 or a KF94,"

N95 does not require manufacturers to test for fit. However, the headband normally ensures a better face seal. KF94 has a fit-test requirement, but it's bar is low -- 11% leakage to pass the test. The ear-loops really don't do much and in terms of face seal and filtering inbound air. Leakage is far greater source of pollutants than the filter failure (94%, 95%, 99% filtration).

I use common sense -- if the mask fits loosely and is easy to breathe in with, it probably is not filtering much.

Edit: I didn't mention anything about politicized matters or even covid. I discussed the mask certification standards and filtration effectiveness (well established before the pandemic).

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

#59

Post by bcwarner »

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.

I think the statement says that there are no legitimate N95s specifically labeled for kids, so any "N95" that has that labeling is suspect and may not live up to performance. But yeah, I can't imagine N95 designers were anticipating kids to ever need them.
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