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New Covid wave has begun and masks should be worn again, scientists warn
(www.independent.co.uk)
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this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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Today, any hardware store. The counterfeits were a bigger problem when demand spiked and manufacturing couldn't keep up. That being said, even a shitty counterfeit should block the spit droplets that the virus rides on.
Face masks are most effective at reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 when the infected persons wear them. They may reduce incidence of infection when donned by healthy persons, but they are much less effective at doing so versus the former case.
The N95 respirators one would likely find at a hardware store are not the proper masks. The 3M Cool Flow Valve Particulate Respirator 8511, for example, which I picked up recently at a hardware store, only filters the incoming air but not the outgoing air. The contagions flow straight out.
They were absolutely great for better tolerating the highly dusty environment that prompted me to purchase them. But I wouldn't trust them if contagions were the concern at hand.
If they are your only choice? Sure. But if you have a better option? Go for it. Help protect your neighbors.
I've made this comment elsewhere, but I do recommend wearing eye protection.
Also, the N95 and KN95 designators doesn't specify if there's a vent valve or not. Just get the ones without one. Any mask will still catch spit from coughs. If you're in a space that gets saturated, the room has ventilation issues and masks are unlikely to do much anyway. CO2 monitors can indirectly measure the saturated level. It's unhealthly to be in spaces like that, covid or not.
And where do you get N95s that filter outgoing air effectively? Besides, even these N95s are leagues better than the Chinese mass-produced KN95 junk you see on something like Amazon.
Edit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/free-masks.html
Here the CDC lists brands and models of masks that are effective in protecting yourself and others. As you say, the 8511 just happens to be one with an exhalation valve. I do remember the CDC explicitly saying exhalation valves were a no-go during the pandemic, so I don't think anyone looking for N95s for COVID protection would buy masks with valves anyway. There are other options available from hardware stores.
I had a box of 3m n95 without valve at the start of the pandemic. Felt a little weird masking up before everyone else was for our pregnancy appointments at the hospital. Had to argue with my wife just to wear the damn things since a hospital was the most likely place to get infected and nobody knew how it might affect pregnant women and babies yet.
Kid was born into a pandemic and mass protesting going on. Of course by the time we went in for the birth they had increased their covid protocols and we weren't allowed to leave our little hospital room and I wasn't allowed to come back if I left. We spent 5 days in that cramped room.
I remember seeing some people wearing the vented ones. One news anchor that was interviewing people going to the beach was wearing a vented mask asking people if they thought it was safe. I hate people.
Then they're not properly educated, they have no better option, or in the case of the news anchor, they're a parasite feeding on fear.
The thing specifically to avoid are ones with valves. Anything else with reasonable filtration will protect others.