This implies that wearing a mask will prevent covid infection. It will not, look at a place like South Korea or Singapore to see why that's just not reality.
Anyway, yes, it sucks, the only way I got through it was by reassuring myself that for the vast majority of people issues like brain fog do tend to resolve depending on their underlying cause. I won't lie and say it wasn't scary though. Essentially it deleted three months of my life.
> This implies that wearing a mask will prevent covid infection.
There are at least two orders of magnitude difference in efficacy depending on what type of mask you happen to be wearing and what the fit is[1].
And that's assuming OP is the only party wearing a mask. If all parties are wearing them then it's four orders of magnitude depending on mask type/fit.
I don't know what the actual time-to-infection is for Omicron. But that's quite a spread in mask efficacy to blithely encapsulate with the single word "mask." Given that, I don't think it makes sense to talk about "masks" without specifying which category of mask. It's like talking about "latency" in audio-- unless users prefix it with "round trip" they are almost certain to misunderstand what it is they are measuring and will end up just confusing themselves further.
> It will not, look at a place like South Korea or Singapore to see why that's just not reality.
But OP is OP, not an entire country of citizens. And we already know a subset of citizens called "nurses" can learn to wearing a tight-fitting, uncomfortable NIOSH-approved N95 for extended periods of time. If OP wants to do that when buying groceries, OP will likely lower the risk of infection for themselves. And hell, at some point somebody is probably going to create a decent mask that is both tight-fitting and not so painful to wear. Maybe by that point there will even be a better indication of what the actual time to infection for Omicron is.
Yes, it's a reasonable point that truly effective masks do exist. I'd be very surprised if most individuals were prepared to wear them in all situations where infections could occur though. A lot of transmission is household transmission - would many people be willing to wear a fitted n95 mask or equivalent as a precaution when visiting friends or family - potentially indefinitely?
From the headline:
"ULTRA FIT™ MASK Filtration like an N95 Breathability of a 3-Ply"
From the FAQ:
"Are ULTRA FIT™ masks rated as an N95 respirators?"
"No. N95 respirators are intended for healthcare workers and, if used correctly, must be fitted to the user’s face in a specialized process called “fit testing.” A professionally fitted N95 respirator will provide more protection than an ULTRA FIT™ mask but will be much less breathable and much less comfortable than an ULTRA FIT™ mask. N95 respirators are designed for front line healthcare workers looking after COVID patients. N95 masks are not suitable for general community use, because most people will not reliably wear an uncomfortable mask in low risk community settings. ULTRA FIT™ masks are designed for comfort, compliance, and better protection than any other mask for general community use."
But then they go on to show some decent results from their ASTM testing!
They desperately need a copywriter, marketer, or someone else who's going to put a little more thought into what they're communicating.
If you dig deep, it looks legit. On the surface the claims are impressive. But right below the surface— where many scam-averse PPE shoppers will be lurking— you start to see warning signs. They're comparing it to an N95 too much but the qualifiers are awful. That FAQ answer is both condescending in the way scam copy is, and fails to offer any justification for why THEY made the comparison. They don't mention the ASTM certification, let alone the impressive tests results. The only efficacy numbers they show are at the bottom of a linked PDF.
Seems like a good product but a great example of how communication isn't making something look and sound nice. A mask made by two doctors, one also a medical engineer, working in two of the best hospital systems in the country, will look no different than some random factory pressing stuffed animal batting into the shape of KN95 masks without the proper communication.
Just quickly skimming, I notice that a) the clip compares it to the efficacy of a surgical mask, and b) it hooks around the ears rather than going around the head fully.
If it gets listed on that site of NIOSH approved masks I'll certainly give it a shot, though.
I think people are underestimating the sheer magnitude and infectiousness of this virus. Even if chances of longer effects are on par with the flu, it's MUCH more prevalent and infectious. Over the past year, we've had about one wave per season. We're quickly reaching a point where it's reasonable to expect most people will catch it every year or so, and it's entirely possible and maybe likely to get it multiple times a year.
While 3-6 months is a standard recovery timeline for longer term effects, many people are looking at years or a lifetime of serious effects. I'm close to someone who is still recovering from mono over 2 years later. Their entire life has been upended, their career is over, and most of their passions are now physically impossible.
We're looking at many millions of people of people being temporarily or permanently disabled every year on top of previous contributors like flu, etc. Many people don't have the resources to be exhausted and struggling with cognition for months. How many billions of years of life will collectively be deleted over the coming years? I believe this is worse than we realize, and it's going to get worse sooner than we're ready for.
It's not about 100% prevention. Nothing, short of 0 human contact, can guarantee that.
It's all about adding layers of prevention that each drop your chances of catching it (and its potential severity) by N% each. Get enough of those, and your chances start to look pretty good.
Yes if you look at the general population with incorrect mask fitting, long time frame. I would doubt that claim for an individual that wears properly fitted N95.
Anyway, yes, it sucks, the only way I got through it was by reassuring myself that for the vast majority of people issues like brain fog do tend to resolve depending on their underlying cause. I won't lie and say it wasn't scary though. Essentially it deleted three months of my life.