Everyone in China who can afford to buy masks has scrambled to buy them. Of course they're sold out. Production is probably ramping up massively, but that's still not enough to satisfy demand right now.

Yes, scalpers swoop them up in all online stores. They are even sold out on Amazon US, Canada, UK and DE. I was told only the ones with a N95 rating can be effective against this virus.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8210-Pack/d...

> I was told only the ones with a N95 rating can be effective against this virus.

N95 masks need to be fit properly [1], and are very uncomfortable for daily use.

Surgical masks are a good compromise for going out in public, and mostly protect others from the mask-wearer. It's more important to practise good hygiene to avoid infection [2].

[1] https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/health/coronavirus-surgic...

> Surgical masks are a good compromise for going out in public, and mostly protect others from the mask-wearer.

Under this model, if everyone panics and wears masks to prevent themselves from getting sick, the spread of the disease will be crippled because everyone's wearing masks and people who are sick can't infect anyone else. It's a great idea.

This isn't really different from the herd immunity model of vaccination, where a lot of individuals getting vaccinated return a huge bonus to society in the form of herd immunity. If herd immunity were the only benefit, would we still want people to get vaccinated? Of course, that's why it's supposed to be mandatory.

Hmm, but it is in stock on Amazon US right now?

I also went to tmall.com, Alibaba’s Chinese online marketplace, and it appears they are in stock too:

https://list.tmall.com/search_product.htm?q=%BF%DA%D5%D6n95&...

Apparently (or so I was told) that the masks with ventilation holes are not nearly as effective. Hence my original link is one without a breathable hole. If you check Amazon again, all the hole-less N95 masks are all sold out.

Your original link does say “in stock” at least for me. “Usually ships within 4 to 5 days”, but this isn’t a Prime/FBA product so it’s not clear if that’s just business as usual.

Edit: What the hell with downvotes on a stated fact?

Interesting. I am not seeing any availability here in Sweden. Perhaps all the international shipping options are gone. Since I am not in the US, I'd have to order it to ship directly to China.

Not only were they in stock for me but I could have had them (the N95 ones without holes) delivered by the end of day today...

Going to call bullshit on the claim that they're sold out in the US.

For me, "Get it by February 4-5".

surgical masks might be more effective (usability related)

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/public-should-...