Quote:
Originally Posted by Steph
Hi Chemda!
You have said a couple of times now on the show that wearing a mask protects other people but not the person wearing the mask. I understand why you think this, as at the beginning of the pandemic this was information that went around, largely because high-quality masks were not available, so everyone wearing one was really important. However, it is now known that a high-quality, well-fitting N-95 or KN-95 mask protects the wearer very well. That is what doctors have done for a long time, pre-pandemic, worn masks to protect themselves even when potentially contagious patients don't.
Here is a recent article for reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/b...-us-covid.html
Here is a good source of high-quality masks: https://www.projectn95.org/
Me and my family are often the only ones wearing masks everywhere we go. We are also almost the only people I know who have not had Covid! I am definitely more cautious than most people because in my medical practice I see so many people with Long Covid, both vaccinated and not vaccinated, with and without "underlying conditions."
I am not telling you what to do, just wanted to correct the misinformation that wearing a mask doesn't protect the person wearing it, because it has been shown conclusively that wearing the right kind of mask in the right way is very protective. Dealing mentally with being the only weirdo wearing a mask is another story - but I am used to being the weirdo  .
xoxo |
N95 has less transmission because people don't touch them as much with their hands. It is the touch vector not the aerosol vector that changes. The large particles in the air (very small portion of transmission) that all masks stop but it is the behavior of the wearer that changes the different mask transmission rates based on how often they are dipping their hands in the concentrated mucus, blood, spit rag on their face. Without a mask that stuff falls with gravity and generally falls harmlessly, there is still a touch vector here but far smaller concentration to dip hands into to spread.
Good rule of thumb if you can smell through the mask it won't stop aerosol transmission. More accurate - if you can breath through it without a tank or pressure difference it won't stop aerosol.