Example of how the purpose of masks for ordinary people is still not understood. The ones with exhalation valves, including N95s, should not be worn around people, period. Not just in sterile hospital operating rooms as NYT claims. Cotton mask>valved N95.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-best-face-masks.html …
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There are two purposes of masks: protect the wearer from infection AND/OR protect others from wearer's potential transmission. For medical workers, both are important. For regular people in most settings, it's about the latter. Cotton mask will do that; an N95 with valve WON'T.
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If you have extra N95s, please donate them to health workers. They are around people with high viral loads plus do high-risk procedures like intubations which generate aerosols. If you have one with a valve, don't wear it around people. (Maybe ok for taking care of sick person.)
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Medical workers need a great fit, the right mask, proper sanitization etc. because they are trying to PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM BEING INFECTED. AS THEY SHOULD. Ordinary people: we are trying to cut down asymptomatic transmission. A cotton mask, changed often, is awesome for that.
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Will a cotton/surgical/N95 mask protect one from getting infected? Maybe. N95>surgical mask and it does depend on all the stuff you hear: fit, filtering, etc. Taking care of someone sick, sure, properly-worn N95 if you have one, or surgical or cotton mask. But don't count on it.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted I Brake 4 Ants
Fine, though everything you hear about the right fit being very important is true for protecting oneself from being infected even though it matters fairly little for transmitting to others—a point people keep missing. Their best bet is staying distant.https://twitter.com/ibrake4ants/status/1251176250682609665 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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I hear you. Guess try to make sure they understand the N95 is some protection but it really is hard for normal people to do infection control properly. Maybe tell them that during SARS, one big way it spread was medical workers screwing up their PPE routine. It really is hard!
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