As some have pointed out (www.dailykos.com/...) the ability of masks to protect us — and our children in the mess that is school this year — is problematic. It is true that for most, the mask is primarily to prevent those who have COVID (possibly asymptomatically and unknowingly) from spreading it to others; it is generally not as effective to protect the person wearing it. HOWEVER, this is only true for non-medical grade masks, i.e. paper surgical masks, cloth masks and neck gaiters (effectiveness in that order).
I want to point out for the benefit of the community, that N95 or KN95/KN94 masks DO provide substantial benefit and protection for the wearer. They are harder to come by, there is not much information out there on how and where to buy them, and there is concern that much of what is available on Amazon is counterfeit and therefore not as protective.
My spouse, a critical care MD, managed to avoid COVID for the 9 months before vaccination by being scrupulously careful about wearing an N95 at all times that he was at risk — which was pretty much constantly at work. He basically took it off once a day for about 10 minutes so he could hydrate, in a room that had not been used by anyone else for hours and which had decent air circulation. The issue of addressing air circulation and air filtration is another important and under-discussed topic for another day.
I wish the CDC would point this out — that masks have different purposes/qualities. The misunderstandings about masks and how they are or are not helpful have been legion and the powers that be rarely if ever clarify this distinction. Masks to protect the wearer vs masks to prevent spread. For the former, you need a high-quality mask. For the latter, it is sufficient to at least wear something (although my patient’s parent who wore what was essentially a net of rhinestones did not protect me at all, that type of decorative “mask” is basically useless for any purpose, even, IMO decoration)
This man (link below) has done research and experiments on commercially available masks. He is a self-made mask investigator but does have a background in mechanical engineering. As a physician, I find his work and results to be plausible and compelling. I have not found a similar resource elsewhere. OSHA does have information about some N95 brands, but not linked to a purchasing source and not as comprehensive:
www.yahoo.com/…
This is a link to his advice on masks for kids (below). He has other videos evaluating masks for adults and a helpful google spreadsheet of his testing results. Last year, I had my 13-year old wearing an N95 at school. It was a crazy duckbill looking thing my spouse brought home from work. Our child is now vaccinated, but will still be wearing a KN94 for in-person school this year. It is more comfortable than the N95 and I find it to be a reasonable compromise. I would recommend parents look into higher-quality masks for their children who are too young to get vaccinated yet, especially if in a district that is not enforcing mask-wearing or has a low vaccination rate. Also pay attention to sources. I am concerned that his assessment of Amazon being riddled with fakes is probably correct. Last January, when I first heard about COVID, I immediately bought a large box of N95s from Amazon. Foresightful, right? Except it was a Chinese company and never arrived. Others according to this man’s experiments look exactly like the high quality brands but are counterfeit. Some of the sources this guy lists has Korean-made masks, some American made masks.
I also want to point out that function of the high-quality masks is dependent on a good seal on the face. That is why most (all?) N95s have straps that go around the back of the head, not around the ears. The KN95 and KN94s often have ear loops. If you use this kind, it is probably a good idea to pick one that you can snug up to get as good a seal as you can.
I want to point out, this is not professional advice, but my personal opinion, trying to help out other worried parents.
YMMV. Here is the link for kids. See his channel for adult masks and the spreadsheet link:
