Mark, I enjoy reading your commentaries. This one affected me personally, regarding N-95 masks. These masks do provide protection from many hazards, as I can attest from my career working in hazardous conditions. These masks must fit correctly. In fact, they are actually classified as respirators and the wearer must be fit-tested to ascertain that they are protecting the wearer from the particles that the respirator is certified to filter out. Of course, most of the general public does not understand the nuances of respirators or "masks", how to properly don them, what they can and cannot filter, etc. The immune-compromised population may get instructed to wear a "surgical" mask by their medical team to protect themselves from germs, but we all now know that only a respirator (e.g. N-95 or N-99) comes close to protecting them from a life-threatening inhalation. N-95/99 respirators vary by the environment that they are designed for; e.g. particulates, medical, hazardous chemicals, etc. I know. I worked for 30 years in hazardous chemical exposures and I now am severely immune compromised. Masks and respirators are forever in my life.
Susan, I don’t disagree at all, and I can only imagine what you (being a trained toxicologist) thought while seeing people wearing (and mis-wearing) dust masks, bandannas, and crocheted masks, believing they were keeping themselves and their families safe.
My understanding (and correct me if I’m wrong) is that a properly fitted N95 mask will filter about 95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger, on the inhale. A virus is much smaller that 0.3 microns, but the hope is that 95% of particles and water droplets that carry the virus will be caught. Many respirators, including the better N95, are vented, because the better they filter the harder it is to expel breath; and because they are worn to protect the wearer from dangers in the environment, they do not protect others from the person wearing the mask.
So much of what we all witnessed was simply nuts. Waiters wearing masks, usually the wrong masks and poorly fitted, while the patrons (politicians, celebrities, other VIPs) did not. Riots being sanctioned as “safe”, while less political gatherings were “superspreader events”. Schools and churches being closed while supermarkets, Home Depots, and liquor stores remained open. People wearing masks slung under their noses, doing nothing at all. The general public (myself included) are not scientists and do not usually deal with microns and nanometers, and because of this rely upon the experts. This time, the authorities misled the public and often lied. I’d never pretend to be an expert or advise anyone about what they should or should not do, or belittle someone for doing what they deem necessary. I simply reserve the right to do my own risk analysis and make my own choices, a right too many were too quick to surrender.
I hear you. Wearing facial coverings solve many problems but need to be matched to the intended threat. For examle, a cotton/poyester/crocheted gaiter may protect the face from icicle-forming winter wind on a ski slope or protect insects from splattering the face of a motorbike rider. N-95 respirators are certified to filter 95% of 0.3 micron non-oil mist particle sizes. N-99 respirators are 99% effective. Vented models are easier to breathe through but only protect the wearer from biological pathogens. Many viruses are indeed smaller than 0.3 microns, but viruses do not fly around naked, they are carried on droplets or particles. Also, the smaller particles are bounced around among the electrostatic fibers in an N95/99 respirator which increases the likelihood of entrapping the particles. I participated in a 3-hour seminar on the physics of how these particular respirators function; therefore, I know more about this than many other scientifically-educated and medical professionals care to know. I do know that medical professionals can prevent self-infection of most respiratory inhalants if they wear the appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment). As you would know from your sci-fi readings, we humans won't necessarily know when we might encounter a fatal infectious hazard until we collect the data on the aftermath of the observed calamity. Because I know my immune system's limitations, I act accordingly to protect myself as much as possible given current known threats, incuding fungal and mold spores, as do many of the other 2.7 million immune-compromised USA citizens.
This is perfectly sensible. I suppose the question is one of infectious hazards v toxins. In a hazardous environment—working with lead in an industrial setting, say—one can assess the risk (the materials being used, the process, the level of exposure, etc.) and determine if the N95 95% filter efficiency keeps exposure within the permissible exposure limit. There are known quantities and controls. Where biological infection is concerned, though, I’d assume that there is no such permissible exposure. Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like 5% exposure to a virus is not so very different than 100%. There are levels of toxicity, but a virus is a binary problem: you’re infected, or you are not.
People don’t generally think in these terms though, so a casual understanding is that a mask with 95% efficiency reduces one’s odds of infection to 5 in a 100. I’m not sure this is the case. And this all becomes quickly moot when someone takes off the mask, pulls it down to eat, or fails to wear it properly in the first place, which the vast majority of people did, when they were wearing masks that were remotely effective at all.
For someone like yourself, who understands your personal risk and the proper use of PPE, wearing a mask when you decide one is required is completely rational. As I said, I wear a mask when I’m sanding drywall and an actual respirator when I’m spraying paint, and were I immune compromised I would modify much of what I do. When government agencies tell people to wear masks, though, everywhere, and any mask will do? It’s too much like ritual and magical thinking for me. I’d prefer the rubber noses and the plague masks.
Mark, I enjoy reading your commentaries. This one affected me personally, regarding N-95 masks. These masks do provide protection from many hazards, as I can attest from my career working in hazardous conditions. These masks must fit correctly. In fact, they are actually classified as respirators and the wearer must be fit-tested to ascertain that they are protecting the wearer from the particles that the respirator is certified to filter out. Of course, most of the general public does not understand the nuances of respirators or "masks", how to properly don them, what they can and cannot filter, etc. The immune-compromised population may get instructed to wear a "surgical" mask by their medical team to protect themselves from germs, but we all now know that only a respirator (e.g. N-95 or N-99) comes close to protecting them from a life-threatening inhalation. N-95/99 respirators vary by the environment that they are designed for; e.g. particulates, medical, hazardous chemicals, etc. I know. I worked for 30 years in hazardous chemical exposures and I now am severely immune compromised. Masks and respirators are forever in my life.
Susan, I don’t disagree at all, and I can only imagine what you (being a trained toxicologist) thought while seeing people wearing (and mis-wearing) dust masks, bandannas, and crocheted masks, believing they were keeping themselves and their families safe.
My understanding (and correct me if I’m wrong) is that a properly fitted N95 mask will filter about 95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger, on the inhale. A virus is much smaller that 0.3 microns, but the hope is that 95% of particles and water droplets that carry the virus will be caught. Many respirators, including the better N95, are vented, because the better they filter the harder it is to expel breath; and because they are worn to protect the wearer from dangers in the environment, they do not protect others from the person wearing the mask.
So much of what we all witnessed was simply nuts. Waiters wearing masks, usually the wrong masks and poorly fitted, while the patrons (politicians, celebrities, other VIPs) did not. Riots being sanctioned as “safe”, while less political gatherings were “superspreader events”. Schools and churches being closed while supermarkets, Home Depots, and liquor stores remained open. People wearing masks slung under their noses, doing nothing at all. The general public (myself included) are not scientists and do not usually deal with microns and nanometers, and because of this rely upon the experts. This time, the authorities misled the public and often lied. I’d never pretend to be an expert or advise anyone about what they should or should not do, or belittle someone for doing what they deem necessary. I simply reserve the right to do my own risk analysis and make my own choices, a right too many were too quick to surrender.
I hear you. Wearing facial coverings solve many problems but need to be matched to the intended threat. For examle, a cotton/poyester/crocheted gaiter may protect the face from icicle-forming winter wind on a ski slope or protect insects from splattering the face of a motorbike rider. N-95 respirators are certified to filter 95% of 0.3 micron non-oil mist particle sizes. N-99 respirators are 99% effective. Vented models are easier to breathe through but only protect the wearer from biological pathogens. Many viruses are indeed smaller than 0.3 microns, but viruses do not fly around naked, they are carried on droplets or particles. Also, the smaller particles are bounced around among the electrostatic fibers in an N95/99 respirator which increases the likelihood of entrapping the particles. I participated in a 3-hour seminar on the physics of how these particular respirators function; therefore, I know more about this than many other scientifically-educated and medical professionals care to know. I do know that medical professionals can prevent self-infection of most respiratory inhalants if they wear the appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment). As you would know from your sci-fi readings, we humans won't necessarily know when we might encounter a fatal infectious hazard until we collect the data on the aftermath of the observed calamity. Because I know my immune system's limitations, I act accordingly to protect myself as much as possible given current known threats, incuding fungal and mold spores, as do many of the other 2.7 million immune-compromised USA citizens.
This is perfectly sensible. I suppose the question is one of infectious hazards v toxins. In a hazardous environment—working with lead in an industrial setting, say—one can assess the risk (the materials being used, the process, the level of exposure, etc.) and determine if the N95 95% filter efficiency keeps exposure within the permissible exposure limit. There are known quantities and controls. Where biological infection is concerned, though, I’d assume that there is no such permissible exposure. Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like 5% exposure to a virus is not so very different than 100%. There are levels of toxicity, but a virus is a binary problem: you’re infected, or you are not.
People don’t generally think in these terms though, so a casual understanding is that a mask with 95% efficiency reduces one’s odds of infection to 5 in a 100. I’m not sure this is the case. And this all becomes quickly moot when someone takes off the mask, pulls it down to eat, or fails to wear it properly in the first place, which the vast majority of people did, when they were wearing masks that were remotely effective at all.
For someone like yourself, who understands your personal risk and the proper use of PPE, wearing a mask when you decide one is required is completely rational. As I said, I wear a mask when I’m sanding drywall and an actual respirator when I’m spraying paint, and were I immune compromised I would modify much of what I do. When government agencies tell people to wear masks, though, everywhere, and any mask will do? It’s too much like ritual and magical thinking for me. I’d prefer the rubber noses and the plague masks.