3 ms·

N95 is overkill. You likely bring down the R0 below one if everyone wears just cloth masks. Less covid droplets in shared air. I still don’t see how will public

N95 is overkill. You likely bring down the R0 below one if everyone wears just cloth masks. Less covid droplets in shared air. I still don’t see how will public transport for example resume in the next year. My bus was always packed like sardines and couldn’t fit everyone in it at the stop

Animats 6y ago
N95 protects you. Cheapo masks protect other people. That's only useful with a much higher percentage of mask usage than observed in the US. Think this through. 50% use masks, 5% are spreading the disease. Interact with 100 people over a period of time. - Masks which protect others: (0.95)^50 chance of non-exposure = 0.6%. 92% of population exposed. - Masks which protect you: 50% of population exposed. This is oversimplified, but wearing masks which protect others just doesn't do much.
- robocat 6y ago
  If a common mask protects you 50%, then that is a huge win both as an individual and as a group. Saying Assuming 0% in your calculations is biased. I think your word “cheapo” is derogatory. Are people just being cheap when they don’t buy an N95 mask? Saying “cheapo” masks only protect others is an incorrect conclusion: your language is also misleading.
  - Animats 6y ago
    Anything which leaks when you inhale doesn't protect you. If you take a deep breath and don't feel the mask pulled against your face, it's not working. There's now a huge supply of poor to useless masks available, many with phony approval markings.[1] That's most of what's being sold on Amazon. It's moderately hard to make a mask which seals tightly, doesn't offer too much resistance to breathing, and filters to N95 standards. A real N95 mask (3M 8210) is about $1.25 if you can get it. Some of the fakes are much more expensive. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-files-charges-against-chinese-n95-mask-maker-11591395929 https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-files-charges-against-chine...
    - robocat 6y ago
      Exactly. The science shows a well fitted “cheapo” mask can protect you better than a poorly fitted N95 mask. Even a surgical mask provides a little protection: if they provide 25% protection and 50% reduction in transmission, and everyone uses them, that is a huge reduction in R0. Not everyone can invest the time required to learn how to source a real N95 mask. My impression is you are trying to educate the uninformed, while sweeping under the carpet important nuances. I’m sure that isn’t your intention, but that is how it comes across to me.
    - redisman 6y ago
      In Asian countries with low transmission everyone use a "surgical" style mask, not N95. You almost certainly cannot convince a large number of Americans to wear a N95 as it makes breathing quite a bit harder. Especially if you have any underlying health problems or poor general health (again, that's majority of Americans).

Animats 6y ago

N95 protects you. Cheapo masks protect other people. That's only useful with a much higher percentage of mask usage than observed in the US. Think this through. 50% use masks, 5% are spreading the disease. Interact with 100 people over a period of time. - Masks which protect others: (0.95)^50 chance of non-exposure = 0.6%. 92% of population exposed. - Masks which protect you: 50% of population exposed. This is oversimplified, but wearing masks which protect others just doesn't do much.

robocat 6y ago
If a common mask protects you 50%, then that is a huge win both as an individual and as a group. Saying Assuming 0% in your calculations is biased. I think your word “cheapo” is derogatory. Are people just being cheap when they don’t buy an N95 mask? Saying “cheapo” masks only protect others is an incorrect conclusion: your language is also misleading.
- Animats 6y ago
  Anything which leaks when you inhale doesn't protect you. If you take a deep breath and don't feel the mask pulled against your face, it's not working. There's now a huge supply of poor to useless masks available, many with phony approval markings.[1] That's most of what's being sold on Amazon. It's moderately hard to make a mask which seals tightly, doesn't offer too much resistance to breathing, and filters to N95 standards. A real N95 mask (3M 8210) is about $1.25 if you can get it. Some of the fakes are much more expensive. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-files-charges-against-chinese-n95-mask-maker-11591395929 https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-files-charges-against-chine...
  - robocat 6y ago
    Exactly. The science shows a well fitted “cheapo” mask can protect you better than a poorly fitted N95 mask. Even a surgical mask provides a little protection: if they provide 25% protection and 50% reduction in transmission, and everyone uses them, that is a huge reduction in R0. Not everyone can invest the time required to learn how to source a real N95 mask. My impression is you are trying to educate the uninformed, while sweeping under the carpet important nuances. I’m sure that isn’t your intention, but that is how it comes across to me.
  - redisman 6y ago
    In Asian countries with low transmission everyone use a "surgical" style mask, not N95. You almost certainly cannot convince a large number of Americans to wear a N95 as it makes breathing quite a bit harder. Especially if you have any underlying health problems or poor general health (again, that's majority of Americans).