here’s a study...
er, sorry... HCQ effectiveness study. sorry.
Actually, N95 masks are not 100% effective. Additionally, their effectiveness declines over time. Use that as a point of comparison to surgical/cloth masks.
Read this article. A lot of links and explanations
Or talk to physicist
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c05025
Brownian motion means masks are going to capture particles. You are trying to reduce the viral load.
The mask makes you stay away from everyone. In that sense, it’s effective.
You have to apply the logic of a cargo cult. If it resembles a respirator, it carries its mojo.
University of Louisville published a study in April on how they DON’T work. Not peer-reviewed, but nothing in this realm is.
Difference between surgical masks and N95 respirators
The problem is that when you use any major search engine, they're all giving results from NIH, FDA, WHO, and CDC. You have to go 5, 6, 10 pages down to find any industry-specific information on the masks.
Coronaviruses are ~0.1 microns in size. N95 masks use overlapping cloth fibers that are very effective at what they do, but you do need a medical-grade N95 to get that protection and... it needs to be properly fitted!
A MAJORITY of the people wearing them out in the world are not wearing them appropriately. I wore an actual half-face respirator when doing work in an asbestos remediation zone, and it's supposed to be difficult to breathe. Not laborious, but it's not like breathing freely.
A properly-fitted N95 make breathing difficult, especially if it's being reused or used in a high humidity environment. It's like breathing through a wet rag. No one is going to go to those lengths, and if they do, God love em.
I believe it was Seasame Street that taught me this:
"Why is there a banana in your ear?"
"It keeps away alligators."
"But there aren't any alligators."
"See! It works!"
LOL - from politifact...they contort themselves to claim masks work.
The claim examined is that the disposable masks people wear don’t protect against COVID-19 - BECAUSE IT SAYS SO RIGHT ON THE BOX! They show the picture!
Politifact then go on to claim this is misleading because N95 masks are proven to work. So they actually conclude “false” - yet they’re two completely different types of masks. I swear, they assume 99% of people will just read the conclusion, not the narrative. Even their narrative tries to claim it’s a “misunderstanding”, then go on again about N95.
From our very ownFDA that set the standards for such devices:
People with chronic respiratory, cardiac, or other medical conditions that make breathing difficult should check with their health care provider before using an N95 respirator because the N95 respirator can make it more difficult for the wearer to breathe.
Some models have exhalation valves that can make breathing out easier and help reduce heat build-up. Note that N95 respirators with exhalation valves should not be used when sterile conditions are needed.
All FDA-cleared N95 respirators are labeled as “single-use,” disposable devices. If your respirator is damaged or soiled, or if breathing becomes difficult, you should remove the respirator, discard it properly, and replace it with a new one. To safely discard your N95 respirator, place it in a plastic bag and put it in the trash. Wash your hands after handling the used respirator.
N95 respirators are not designed for children or people with facial hair. Because a proper fit cannot be achieved on children and people with facial hair, the N95 respirator may not provide full protection.
Tried using a mask for when I was working with industrial alkaline powder cleaner. The dust went right through it.
Dr. Frauduce of the Inter-galactic Disease Control Board has recommended that all future masks for civilians be composed of two pieces of cloth woven to one thousand threads per inch over a 10 mil thick plastic sheet that will cover one’s nose, mouth, and chin. This is to be secured by elastic cords behind a persons ears and have the edges sealed to one’s face with a permanent glue. The 10 mil plastic sheet will stop all germs from penetrating through the mask and thus is the ultimate protection for adults and children of all ages. (Please note, for now this is merely my sarcasm, but the Dems will probably make it for real in the near future.)
Where is all of the testing for the 1000s of masks with cute sayings or crystal studs or other crap? Masks used in hazardous situations are regulated, yet the virus particle is the same size as a particle of asbestos.
THE N95 is a DUST mask. It filters dust Particles to 0.003 micron..IIRC. The N100 does a little better, BUT they are NOT ANY GOOD for filtering a VIRUS. PLUS the style of mask they are LEAVES your eyes open ANYTHING. A full face mask is the only route that does better. BUT It has to have VIRAL filters in place. DUST filters are useless one them.ð¤ The VIRUS is 100 times or more smaller that the filters threads.
The best analogy that I have yet seen is this: a mask is as effective at stopping a floating virus as a chain-link fence is at stopping mosquitoes.
I can show you at least 3 randomized clinical trial in the real world that are peer reviewed and show they do not work.
Woven cotton (or other fabric masks) and improvised protection: Reduces the transfer of large respiratory droplets to others. Can filter ~50% of large particles provided they have a tight weave (ACS Nano. 2020 Apr 24: acsnano.0c03252)... four-layer silk can filter up to 85%.
• An economist at Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany used statistics (synthetic control method) to conclude that 20 days after becoming mandatory face masks have reduced the number of new infections by around 45% (PNAS. 2020;117(51):32293-32301 first published December 3).
protective goggles;and an appropriate respiratory protection device, such as a half-mask air-purifying (or negative-pressure) respirator with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter or a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filters. Follow local and state requirement regarding pulmonary function and fit testing before beginning any work requiring the use of a respirator.
Personal protective gear should be decontaminated upon removal at the end of the day. All potentially infective waste material (including respirator filters) from clean-up operations that cannot be burned or deep-buried on site should be double-bagged in appropriate plastic bags. The bagged material should then be labeled as infectious (if it is to be transported) and disposed of in accordance with local requirements for infectious waste.
Cloth masks and ordinary medical masks have a very limited protective effect for the wearer. They are more useful to protect others from spit droplets sent flying by coughs and sneezes by the mask wearer.