Statewide COVID mask mandates are on hold across the U.S.At the peak of the Omicron surge, much of the country resisted introducing a new indoor mask policy.In the past three weeks, seven states have announced the end of existing mask regulations.Only nine states have mask regulations of any kind, according to data collected by the Kaiser Family Foundation.By the end of the month, two of them will expire.
At the same time, although Omicron cases have dropped significantly, the spread of COVID remains high in much of the country.Many epidemiologists — and the president — have criticized loosening mask precautions as premature, even if they agree that masks could be loosened in the future.
You may be asking a now-familiar question: What is your personal responsibility in the face of social issues?It’s a story played out through booster shots, coronavirus testing, and relaxation of quarantine policies.The answer isn’t always satisfying: You can’t end the pandemic on your own, but you can make yourself safer.
Masks of all kinds appear to reduce someone’s chances of contracting COVID.Real-world experimental data is hard to collect (it would be unethical to prevent people from wearing masks for the sake of experimentation).But a recently published study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined the habits of more than 1,800 Californians and found that those who always wore at least a cloth mask indoors were less likely to test positive for the coronavirus than those who didn’t. 50%.This is consistent with laboratory research into the efficacy of masks, which found that most masks reduce the movement of particles in and out.As Gothamist wrote earlier this week, the argument that masks are largely ineffective in slowing the spread of COVID is the result of carefully selected data.
This does not mean that all masks provide equal protection.The California study found that people wearing N95s in all public indoor settings were 83 percent less likely to test positive — a huge improvement over cloth masks.Surgical masks sit in the middle.
”If you want to be involved in everyday life and feel the need to protect yourself more, then you really need to up your game and wear an N95 mask,” said Marcus Schabacker, president of ECRI, a nonprofit that independently evaluates medical devices.
Part of the confusion over the benefits of masks comes from the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended masks of any type before highlighting the benefits of N95s last month.Does this mean that cloth masks are not effective in the first place?
Not at all: The key thing to remember is that cloth and surgical masks can provide societal benefits, even if they do less to reduce your personal risk.Surgical masks are quite good at preventing the spread of viral particles, although they are not as effective at blocking viral particles as the N95.Cloth masks are not as effective as surgical masks or respirators, but still contain some of the aerosols you exhale.
This means that any type of mask can be a useful public health tool, even if it doesn’t provide the absolute best protection for the wearer.
Think of it this way.It is assumed that cloth masks reduce the chance of contracting COVID by 50%, as in the California study.Covid-19 would spread more slowly, softening the blow to hospitals and preventing many infections across society.This is a worthy goal.But you may still face some personal risk.
That’s why the CDC now recommends using an N95 or similar respirator to protect yourself from infection.As long as these masks fit, they filter out about 95 percent of incoming particles.
All other things being equal, people wearing respirators are protected about seven times as long as those wearing cloth masks, according to estimates published by ECRI.Another December 2021 study based on particle modeling found that healthy people wearing N95s had less than a 1 percent chance of contracting COVID if they stayed next to an infected person wearing a surgical mask for 20 minutes.If neither is wearing a mask, healthy people have a 90 percent chance of contracting the virus.
N95 masks protect the wearer “even if the person you’re interacting with isn’t wearing anything and gets infected,” Shabak said.”Combined with some effectiveness of your antibodies, whether it’s a vaccination or a natural infection, it should help protect you in most situations, like public transportation, school rooms, shopping, Super Bowl games.”
Masks are better at preventing you from spreading COVID to others.If your loved one is at high risk of serious illness, or if your child hasn’t been vaccinated, wearing a mask will definitely keep them safer.
The same rule of thumb above applies: While cloth masks can reduce the risk of spreading COVID, respirators can all but eliminate it.
This efficacy was most clearly demonstrated in a study published in January.The researchers brought test subjects into the lab, gave them various face shields, and recorded their speaking and coughing in front of cameras typically used to study the movement of jet fuel.
”We found that aerosols and droplets spread at about 2 feet (for speaking) and 2.2 feet (for coughing) in cloth masks,” said Cary, senior author of the study and a NASA aerospace researcher Kareem Ahmed said.University of Central Florida.”That’s still relatively large. If we were talking to each other, you’d probably be within a foot or two.”
Surgical masks reduce that to about half a foot.Ahmed said the study didn’t even account for the effects of N95 respirators because there was nothing to see.No particles actually escape.
A mask is only effective when you are actually wearing it.Make sure it’s comfortable and fit.You may want to try a few different versions, although Schabacker points out that many pharmacies now offer the free N95 from the federal government.
An easy way to test the fit of your mask, Ahmed says, is to see if your glasses fog up while you’re wearing them — if so, you’ll need to adjust your nose to create a seal.(We have more details on purchasing masks.)
And emphasized wearing masks in the most important situations.In a paper titled “The COVID-19 False Dichotomy,” published last summer, a team of public health researchers, virologists and epidemiologists argued that policymakers should Seek a middle ground between wearing a mask and not wearing a mask at all.”Not all settings and activities permit the wearing of masks or confer the same risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the team wrote.
The same principle applies to individuals.Wear a mask when the risk of approaching an infected person is high.Generally, this means public indoor spaces, or crowds of people outside.At home, masks are most useful when there are visitors.This still applies when everyone is vaccinated, because currently, the CDC lists the entire US as a high transmission area.
Masks are just one tool to reduce the chance of infection.This is not a magic shield.The less time you spend with people outside your immediate family, the less work a mask needs to do.
Covers New Orleans’ ecology, climate, public health, and more.His work has also appeared in Outdoors, National Geographic and Sierra Leone.
Post time: Feb-18-2022