A Jelly Squishes Slowly By
Dr. Lucky Tran 
We need a permanent free N95 mask program. N95s protect against multiple health threats including COVID and bad air quality. Every person should be able to have N95 masks sent to their house free of charge, or be able to pick up free N95s from a local community center.
Ms. Opossum (now @ratnegative)@luckytran Based
Graydon@luckytran Can I plead with you to stop advocating for the barely-adequate solution and start advocating for the much better in every respect solution, which is elastomerics?
More comfort, less expense, less waste, more effective, and yet the focus cannot be shifted from N95s. It's kinda disturbing at this point.
CavyherdCan we please just get people masking, like AT ALL first? Please?
@cavyherd @luckytran Not if we're going to tell them it works and it doesn't.
N95 respirators are the minimum effective countermeasure for current circulating variants. And it's arguably a bit marginal for many N95s for long term wear or if you talk extensively.
Grassroots JoeIf we're aiming for public health vs. individual health, do you see any chance that your option would garner adoption by more than a small fraction of the populace no matter how many of us advocate for it?
Let's crawl before we walk before we try sprinting.
@joeinwynnewood @cavyherd @luckytran I think I should care about the results—avoiding infection—far more than I should care about any particular behaviour.
The minimum ante for "works" is the necessary minimum for advocacy. Otherwise the advocacy does harm.
You can't separate the two when looking beyond yourself.
N95s and KN95s are certainly not perfect, but they're far better than nothing.
If we multiplied the number of people wearing quite good but not perfect masks in public indoor spaces by 10, there would be a very noticeable reduction in transmission.
If we multiplied the number of people wearing elastomeric respirators by 10, there would be a negligible change.
I see K/N95s daily. ERs? Not 1, ever.
@joeinwynnewood @cavyherd @luckytran I think you might be assuming your conclusion.
Hypothesis: granted the use of an alien mind control ray, I cause several popular right-wing influencer types to do repeated shows about COVID-induced penis shrinkage, while having them suggest that only elastomerics are likely to be effective enough to prevent this.
People would wear elastomerics.
What we're seeing now is a policy decision, not an inherent property of people.
@joeinwynnewood @cavyherd @luckytran The other thing is that "reducing the rate of transmission" isn't an appropriate objective. We know with some confidence that people don't stay functional after arbitrary COVID infections; a lower rate of transmission is a not-that-much-slower collapse.
The appropriate objective for public health is to prevent transmission. This isn't happening. If I get as far into the future as I can, maybe I'll reach functioning public health.
LisPi@graydon @joeinwynnewood @cavyherd @luckytran A transmission rate below R1 means a dying disease.
So yes, just reducing the rate of transmission can be enough, if your reduction objectives are sufficient.
People will, with quality messaging, do what they experience other people doing. It's called a permission structure.
I live in suburban Philadelphia. I see a minority of people wearing good quality masks. Growing that minority into a majority is possible if unlikely.
I have seen not a single person wearing an elastomeric respirator in 3+ years. You can't multiply 0 into anything.
That's not assuming a conclusion, it's seeing what is doable and what is not.
CurrentBias@graydon @luckytran you can interpret n95 as "n95 or better" -- plus, there are elastomerics that use n95 filters
I don't settle for less than p100 myself, but that doesn't mean n95 isn't where the bar for "blocks an extremely high amount of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2" begins
@currentbias @luckytran "Costs less, works better" should be a no-brainer.
I used both in the before times for the intended industrial purpose—not breathing sanding dust—and after a day, there was a lot of dust in the N95 and there wasn't in the elastomeric.
Disposable N95 fit is tricky.
While there are reasons for disposables in medical contexts, if we're going to give stuff to the public, let's get the best outcome for the public spending. Let's try to protect people as well as we can.
crabctrl@graydon @luckytran Also more expensive, more difficult to mass produce, and a lot bulkier. N95 masks are at least much much better than surgical masks (or god forbid, cloth masks), and certainly anything is better then no mask.
Honestly just encouraging people to use ANY relatively effective mask is a good start, especially given in most places people have stopped wearing masks entirely (I am guilty of this too, to be honest...)
@katp32 @luckytran While the unit cost for the elastomeric is higher, the cost per year is much lower.
N95 is worth doing when you can't do better; https://readimask.com/ for the dentist or diagnostic machinery is a really good idea. And they can work! I do not at all dispute that N95 can work. It's working continuously that's the challenge.
So far as I'm aware, against current circulating variants, surgical masks, cloth masks, and nothing are statistically equivalent.
@katp32 @luckytran I agree that any-effective is a good start, too.
This thread started with "N95s should be provided with public funds" and I'm much rather the public funds went into the "costs less, works better" options.
@graydon @luckytran Yeah, no idea what the status with current strains are but even at the beginning of the pandemic surgical and cloth masks did absolutely nothing to protect the _wearer_, they were intended to protect those around the wearer. Or in other words, it achieves absolutely nothing if the majority of people aren't wearing them.
@graydon @luckytran Also, fuck cloth masks in general. Like I have actual discomfort breathing with those, whereas I often completely forget about surgical and N95 masks when I'm wearing them.
They're less effective than any other option AND very uncomfortable, why do people buy those things.
@katp32 @luckytran Dunno!
(Least hypothesis is that they're stylish. Some cloth-shell soft masks, like Cambridge Masks, are pretty good for things like smoke, and I think there was a sort of transitive affection. There may also be a certain amount of self-reliance impulses getting involved, and as I recall there was definitely a "let me do something to feel safer" thing going on. Those don't have to work in a statistical sense to become popular.)
Just Your Luck, You'll Survive@graydon
Or, you know, choices. Personally I'd like to have a choice in tests as well. But 10 N95s or an elastomeric could be a checkbox.
@luckytran
Or, you know, choices. Personally I'd like to have a choice in tests as well. But 10 N95s or an elastomeric could be a checkbox.
@luckytran
@graydon
Oh and for the love of god give them out based on something besides actual physical home address. Large families still only get 4? Couch surfers, homeless in a tent, hotel living, RV traveling, people who only have PO boxes, heck now that I think of it, elderly living on cruise ships is a thing. None of them qualify for the free tests. It's very very privileged, the free test thing.
@luckytran
Oh and for the love of god give them out based on something besides actual physical home address. Large families still only get 4? Couch surfers, homeless in a tent, hotel living, RV traveling, people who only have PO boxes, heck now that I think of it, elderly living on cruise ships is a thing. None of them qualify for the free tests. It's very very privileged, the free test thing.
@luckytran
firewyre@luckytran COVID tests too. Wtf am I gonna do with 4 of them with my family of 5
@firewyre Decide which kid you like the least
Gina B Fla
Kate Nyhan is changing servers@luckytran With more than one size and model, because people have different face sizes and shapes and preferences.
SearingTruth
SleightWryder@luckytran Or we can demand better air quality and filtration of our homes and indoor spaces instead of begging for these crumbs while our planet continues to get raped on the daily... Just saying.
Kevin Karhan 
@luckytran I'd go so far and say we should make Half- and Full-Face masks as well as supplies like N100/P3R-D+biostop filters and cleaning utensils widely available and provide them to everyone for free, as these will save a lot of money longterm...
Doug BostromTrue. We have a very impoverished view of "national defense."
@luckytran
Remember the days when you could pickup a free dialup internet CD at the Kmart checkout? Now do masks.
Remember the days when you could pickup a free dialup internet CD at the Kmart checkout? Now do masks.
JoeA
Agent Joséphine Baker
Lstn2urmama 🇨🇦@luckytran ..never gonna happen her..e
Nincowpoop@luckytran
Agree. I typically use KN-94 just because they fit better for me. Is this a meaningful distinction?
Agree. I typically use KN-94 just because they fit better for me. Is this a meaningful distinction?