Why some experts recommend upgrading to N95 masks to help fight the delta variant

Washington Post ^ | 7/24/21 | By Allyson Chiu

[conservative98]

The debate over masks is heating up again, with increasing calls for all Americans, regardless of coronavirus vaccination status, to return to wearing face coverings in indoor public places to help thwart the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. But some experts say the recommendations should specify the kind of masks people should be using.

Support our journalism. Subscribe today. “Delta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don’t think we should just talk about masks,” Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said during a recent appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I think we should be talking about high-quality masks,” such as N95 respirators.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and an infectious-disease expert at the University of California at San Francisco, expressed a similar sentiment: “We can’t say we’re going back to masks without discussing type of mask.”

[jdsteel]

“ Nevertheless, I am more comfortable in my homemade cheese-cloth mask if I am forced to wear one, so don’t speak too loudly. ;)”

I flew several times wearing my homemade, cotton cheesecloth masks.

Got into Disney, too. Supermarkets, everywhere.

[lepton]

If masks are useful, then wearing them right becomes a requirement. Very few actually do.

[Allegra]

I’m waiting for the Babylon Bee to do an article saying “instead of a lockdown, the gubermint is calling for MOPP Level 4 for the entire population. ‘Let’s nip this in the bud declares Fauci.’”

Yes! Only for two weeks. You know...to flatten the curve. 😏

[Svartalfiar]

Not being very bio technical-minded, could you explain to me what you ate alluding to? I read the stuff but I can’t make heads or tails of the bullet point.

Different levels of biohazard refer to the amount of protection required to prevent infection, usually in reference to people working with/around the pathogen in lab settings.

Something non-contagious or non-hazardous might require no more than gloves, maybe a basic mask. Something that'll get you slightly sick might require both. Something that'll get you decently sick might require a mask with a particular filtration level. And as you go down the chain, you might need a respirator (full face seal, ALL air is filtered through a canister), a self-contained breathing apparatus (full face seal, ALL air comes from a built-in or hosed-in supply, NOTHING from the ambient potentially pathogen-tainted air), to even a full biohazard suit where there's no possible skin contact as well. Some levels might require special HVAC systems that turn over and filter the ambient air so many times per hour/minute.

For regular diagnostic testing or similar, not much is required. But for actually dealing with known live samples, potential aerosols, they recommend level 3, which generally includes full respirators (way better than an N95, usually rated closer to a P99), body gowns, and work has to be done in a special bio-containment cabinet. Think the movies where they have a glass box with gloves built in the sides.

https://consteril.com/biosafety-levels-difference/