Re:The end of the pandemic is near
by akiselev on Wednesday May 26, 2021 @11:04AM
(#27291432)
The jury is out on whether N95's provide any extra protection over a thick bandana or blown plastic surgical masks for the general public, isn't it? The average person cannot be expected to fit an N95 properly.
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Re:The end of the pandemic is near
by jfkvktnrnr on Wednesday May 26, 2021 @11:10AM
(#27291512)
A totally unfit N95 has way less leakage than a very carefully fit surgical mask.
Just try it for yourself, put a N95 on you face and don't even press the metal nose thing, and then see if you can fit a surgical mask better than this unfit N95.
This is another meme which needs to die.
> Just try it for yourself, put a N95 on you face and don't even press the metal nose thing, and then see if you can fit a surgical mask better than this unfit N95.
I have, with a proper fit tester. If you use a half mask respirator with cartridges, sure, the rubber seal is better by default. However, most N95 masks I've seen in public are are the cheap rigid masks leaving large gaps all around the circumference, whereas the surgical masks/bandana cling to the skin better.
That would be a to-do item for after the pandemic then: make sure that there is sufficient supply with quality N95 masks and training people how to use them, also perhaps: offer several sizes to ensure perfect fit. There is no good reason not to own a small supply of masks going forward.