CDC says N95 masks provide the most protection against COVID-19

The hill ^ | 01/14/2022 | Lexi Lonas

[ChicagoConservative27]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its mask guidance on Friday, saying that N95 masks provide the most protection against COVID-19.

The update comes days after Rochelle Walensky, the head of the CDC, said the website is “in need of updating right now” to elaborate on the “different levels of protection different masks provide.”

[freeandfreezing]

The Virus cannot be restrained by a paper or cloth mask.

Which of course is why I asked when Facebook and their fellow big tech friends would ban the CDC for publishing COVID-19 misinformation.

[freeandfreezing]

N95 masks filter coronaviruses like poultry netting filters mosquitos. That is, NOT AT ALL.

Why do you think that?

COVID-19 virus particles have a size around .1 micron. N95 masks are tested against particles of that size and catch most of them. As in more than 98 percent.

You can learn about N95 mask testing, and how they work by reading this

[freeandfreezing]

Back in early 2020 the inventor of the material used in N95 masks was retiring from the University where he was employed. He said that the material wasn’t suitable for protection against a virus.

I doubt it. Post a link if you have one. Then go read this paper on the way in which N95 masks are tested. Notice that it is from 2017, long before the COVID virus was even known.

Here is the 3M datasheet, showing their NIOSH approval number.

Here is the NIOSH standard

P100 respirators are even better, but a properly fitted N95 mask dramatically reduces the risk of inhaling any airborne virus.

[Radix]

I think that most people are clueless regarding the proper ‘Fit Testing’ of an N-95 mask.

Just stick the thing on and you are good. They really do not know.

[CedarDave]

N95s are useless against viruses. ‘Chain link fence vs mosquitoes’
"Wrong, the mask openings are smaller than the virus size, but they also make it more difficult to breathe and it must be fitted properly to prevent air in or out around the edges. "

Let me correct that statement:

Wrong, the mask openings are smaller than the most virus-containing particles, but they also make it more difficult to breathe and it must be fitted properly to prevent air in or out around the edges.

Effectiveness of surgical, KF94, and N95 respirator masks in blocking SARS-CoV-2: a controlled comparison in 7 patients

N95 respirators have 2 advantages over simple cloth or surgical masks; they are >95% efficient at filtering 0.3-μm particles (smaller than the 5-μm size of large droplets—created during talking, coughing, and sneezing—which usually transmit influenza) and are fit tested to ensure that infectious droplets and particles do not leak around the mask (2–4).

[CedarDave]

I’ve corrected my post (https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4029632/posts?page=45#45)

A little civility goes a long way, something apparently not taught in the backwoods of Alabama.

[bray]

The N95 mask works as good as a chain link fence works against mosquitoes.

[CedarDave]

I think that most people are clueless regarding the proper ‘Fit Testing’ of an N-95 mask. Just stick the thing on and you are good. They really do not know.

How true. I work for a safety company and the boss said he's ordered a supply of KN95 masks for us to use and we all will be fit-tested prior to use.

[Radix]

I love my N-95 mask.

I actually have about a half dozen of them.

Just keep wearing them, and make believe that there is some some sort of protection going on.

I do not understand people at all.

The masks are designed for single use only, but mine are all at least a year old, and I reuse them all of the time. It is all illusion.

[Mozzafiato]

We’ve literally come full circle and are back in March 2020 with them pushing N95 masks again!

[Bob434]

practically everyone who has contracted covid has been wearing masks because of the idiotic mask mandates- clearly the masks do nothing- there are more people getting covid now than before- and there are mask mandates nearly everywhere- and in places like NY- their numbers are way up despite mask mandate-

[WWG1WWA]

That’s the truth. I have one and I have to pull the bottom out just to breathe.

[nikos1121]

An N-95 mask is a respirator. It requires an OSHA respirator physical.

If you’re breathing 100% room air with your O2 Saturation at 95+% you put on an N-95 and it will drop to the 70s% for some people.

IOWs you can wear these periodically, but to wear all day is dangerous, or to work out in one is dangerous, or to walk entire length of an airport concourse with one on is going to fatigue you, and older people will have event.

Another, half-ass crazy idea coming out of CDC

[ronnie raygun]

bla bla bla bla bla bla.................

[EBH]

Correct.

Anyone with a heart condition should not be in a N-95 mask for extended periods of time.

If an employer hands you a N-95 mask, they better have a fit test program, had your physical done that you can actually wear one for the intended purpose, and a written program.

[EBH]

The Physiological Impact of N95 Masks on Medical Staff

Detailed Description:
Wearing N95 masks results in hypooxygenemia and hypercapnia which reduce working efficiency and the ability to make correct decision.

Medical staff are at increased risk of getting ‘Severe acute respiratory syndrome’(SARS), and wearing N95 masks is highly recommended by experts worldwide. However, dizziness, headache, and short of breath are commonly experienced by the medical staff wearing N95 masks. The ability to make correct decision may be hampered, too. The purpose of the study was therefore to evaluate the physiological impact of N95 mask on medical staff.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00173017

[EBH]

What your employer needs to do if you wear a n-95 mask

The Respiratory Protection Standard requires the following whenever the use of N95s is required:

Written Respiratory Protection Program (RPP)
Qualified Administrator
Medical Clearance for employees to wear an N95 (not optional!)
Annual Fit Testing
Annual Training

This is part of Biden’s strategy to make people get the shot! Employers can mandate shot or mask. Then tell you your cloth mask or surgical mask is not good enough. You have to wear the n-95 mask. When the employer realizes that this company mandate now requires a full blown safety program, medical screening, and third party fit testing...well guess what...they are not going to do it. Employers will collapse one of two directions on this.

[21twelve]

A well-fitting N95 is effective in stopping about 50% of the virus (based on size). The smaller particles that the mask can’t filter may already be destroyed by drying out as it traveled through the air.

I spent a bit of time around my infected son while wearing my N95 (I knew he was sick). I have no idea if the mask helped or it was my natural immunity, but I have yet to get Covid.

My thinking is, if knowing that you are in proximity of a known sick person (taking care of them), any precautions one can take is prudent.

BTW - the body can handle a certain amount of viral particles and deal with them. It is when the viral load is too much for the body and then it causes problems. I figure if wearing a mask can reduce the viral load by 50% that is better than nothing.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

LOL But Dr. Faustus said any mask is fine.

[Paul R.]

A lot of Americans must be quite the wimps. Asians laugh at us for it. Most KN95’s are not bad to wear at all. They are, however (at least all I have seen), prone to not sealing particularly well. Aside from iffy wearer protection, they can fog glasses, esp. in cool weather if breathing technique is poor. (Water vapor cannot carry COVID, but condensation on glasses IS annoying.)

If you want discomfort, try the version of 3M N95’s with a valve and hefty straps. Now, those used properly, protect the wearer quite well. But they are only partially effective in reducing spread FROM the wearer. And, they ARE uncomfortable, and will leave quite a mark on one’s face if worn for hours.

Last fall, I ended up in a situation where my only reasonable option was a 26 hour (including some short layovers) bus trip. Masks required, on the busses and in terminals, and, among that crowd in fall on a bus I’d likely want a mask even if “only” flu was about. I am over 65 and have a couple other moderate COVID co-morbidities, one being a prior issue. (No, I’m not a smoker.) The best wearer-protective masks I could find were the above-mentioned N95’s, BUT, they were not sufficient to get on a bus or be in a terminal, as I could be spreading through the valve. So, I double masked: 3M valved mask inside, a KN95 on the outside. For roughly 24 of those 26 hours. Maybe a bit more.

Was it fun? Hell, no. But I manned up and got through it. And never got a sniffle from the trip. Am pretty sure I gave none, either.

Since then, better, more comfortable full protection valveless N95’s have come out from 3M. I bought a pack of 20 3M “9205+” masks on Amazon a bit B4 Christmas.

I certainly don’t consider myself particularly “tough”. So, except for someone with some sort of physical non-tolerance condition (allergy to materials, etc.), for those who find mere KN95’s really annoying to wear, I’m with the Asians. The TIME burned to properly use them & sterilize them for re-use, and a nod to cost of good masks, are my “gripes”. Well, that, and that it took nearly 2 years to get improved US-made N95’s available to the public...

Real annoyance are those juvenile, cloying CDC ads...