Dr. Lucky Tran Sep 28, 2023
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.
Show threadGraydonSep 28, 2023

@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.

Show threadcrabctrl

@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...)

Sep 29, 2023 at 1:32amWeb
Show threadGraydonSep 29, 2023

@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.

ReadiMask

ReadiMask is the only strapless N95 respirator with a perfect seal to keep you and yours safe. MRI Safe.

ReadiMask
Show threadGraydonSep 29, 2023

@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.

Show threadcrabctrlSep 29, 2023
@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.
Show threadcrabctrlSep 29, 2023

@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.

Show threadGraydonSep 29, 2023

@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.)