What a load of crock. My elderly father, terminal illness, was hit by the lockdown days before coming to visit us. He DOES NOT CARE about covid. He is dying anyways.
Then they wouldn't let our young son go play with friends or play on beach. This is lifetime impact stuff at 2-3.
When I wore an N95 mask I was told over and over it didn't help. Hello, it's an airborne disease, why wouldn't my mask help?
So we can't wear an N95, we CAN go to crowded grocery stores, we CAN'T go outside to the beach (huge volume of onshore fresh air and sunshine) and school is remote only (for a 2 year old this is TERRIBLE).
Worst of all, despite the talk of being "science driven" they have not been releasing age banded fatality rates by variant and a timely basis so folks can make informed decisions.
We got fed so much BS that the hit is going to be very long lasting in terms of credibility of the "establishment".
My father has a phd in a hard science. My wife has a phd in a hard science. If you are losing these folks, you are losing LOTS of folks.
That makes me wonder, what IS the fatality rate for 5 year olds. Seriously give me a table. Is it lower than just random accidents per 100?
Finally, why can't I wear a mask (N95 with ventilator) that is comfortable so easier to wear and protects me. ANd others can make their own decisions. Instead we spent huge amounts of effort trying to force people who may not have believed in mask wearing to wear masks, but these masks (cloth / surgical) were I suspect largely ineffective.
It sounds like you have been dealing with a lot of ineffective health theater. That is unfortunate. But that's a very different thing from "cloth/surgical masks are largely ineffective".
We are told that an N95 with a vent is "ineffective" and prohibited, but someone wearing a bandana is OK. That at least was the guidance for a long time.
So based on this, the cloth masks, bandana's, gators etc need to BEAT an N95 with an exhalation valve to be considered effective.
Of course, it turns out that an N95 with an exhalation valve is VERY good at protecting the wearer, and AS GOOD as all these others at protecting others.
"The findings in this report are based on tests of 13 FFR models from 10 different manufacturers. These findings show that FFRs with an exhalation valve provide respiratory protection to the wearer and can also reduce particle emissions to levels similar to or better than those provided by surgical masks, procedure masks, or cloth face coverings."
"An N95 filtering facepiece respirator will protect you and provide source control to protect others. A NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator with an exhalation valve offers the same protection to the wearer as one that does not have a valve. As source control, findings from NIOSH research suggest that, even without covering the valve, N95 respirators with exhalation valves provide the same or better source control than surgical masks, procedure masks, cloth masks, or fabric coverings."
So, my elderly parents trying to fly United Airlines are BANNED from wearing a comfortable N95 with an exhalation valve that would do a GREAT job protecting them. Instead they are told to wear a surgical mask (which does relatively little by comparison to a well fit N95) especially on INHALATION, where a surgical mask often passes air long the sides. And they sit next to folks barely wearing a light cloth mask that may no almost nothing.
Again, why not let folks make their own decisions? Concerned? At high risk? Let my elderly parents wear an N95 with exhalation valve, they can wear that comfortably for 3-4 hours if needed. Instead it is this theatre just as you describe, but based on so little actual research (and so unwilling to change with new research) that it is crazy.
As I understand it, masks with exhalation valves only exist because that design works fine for masks intended to protect the wearer from spray-paint (and similar industrial hazards). That design was never meant for use in a respiratory pandemic.
There's no shortage of normal (no valve) N95/N99 masks.
> based on this, the cloth masks, bandana's, gators etc need to BEAT an N95 with an exhalation valve to be considered effective
A good point, but it's not the only perspective on this.
If we consider that only some proportion of the population will be wearing N95/N99 masks, it benefits everyone to insist that those masks not have valves. Of course, if people aren't fully aware of the rules ahead of time, this is undermined.
Or a less utilitarian angle: to deliberately build (or buy) a mask with an exhalation valve is to deliberately introduce a feature which increases risk to other people, for no appreciable upside. There should be real push-back against these designs.
Seems to me the airlines/airports would do well to offer a vending machine of non-valve N95/N99 masks at reasonable prices. Do any of them do that?
And this is the issue. Folks like you are fighting a (losing) battle to force people to wear uncomfortable N99 masks on flights.
Heads up, plenty of folks have masks off their nose, off their mouth while eating, are wearing surgical masks, cloth masks, bandanas and other stuff that does nearly nothing.
"it benefits everyone to insist that those masks not have valves."
False. I can wear an N95 with a valve for hours. As a cited, the risk to OTHERS is as low as any of the allowed alternatives. More importantly, compliance is much easier.
And N95 with valves despite your claim that it doesn't work against things like covid DOES in fact do a fantastic job protecting wearer. That is why the CDC itself had to do a total uturn here and now both recommends them and specifically suggests they should not be blocked.
There should be real push back against this totally backwards approach in public health which by the way is not working, which is to try and force places folks in places like Florida and Texas to comply with absolutely over the top requirements (hint, they wont) while at the same not allowing folks like myself who want to wear a high protection comfortable mask (N95 with exhalation) to do so.
The public health folks and scientists truly lost their minds on this. I can go into a resteraunt TODAY and see people with NO MASKS AT ALL. And yet my N95 with an exhalation valve is considered some high crime, despite no actual real science saying it doesn't work or that it increases others risks.
And the upside is comfort, which is real. Why do folks NOT want to wear masks? Public health folks don't stop to ask this. One major reason if you would stop and ask is COMFORT!
I literally cite the CDC on masks with exhalation valves, and this is the "mental version of COVID".
I get it, I've been lectured to by folks like you repeatedly. And this is where public health credibility goes to die.
There seems to be a crazy desire of public health folks to preach and be surprior, put down others, even though their advice has been so wrong, and many of them are wrong on the actual science, the risks, the tradeoffs.
Cloth / surgical masks are largely ineffective. I recommend you listen to the explanations by infectious disease experts Dr. Monica Gandhi and Dr. Michael Osterholm.
Then they wouldn't let our young son go play with friends or play on beach. This is lifetime impact stuff at 2-3.
When I wore an N95 mask I was told over and over it didn't help. Hello, it's an airborne disease, why wouldn't my mask help?
So we can't wear an N95, we CAN go to crowded grocery stores, we CAN'T go outside to the beach (huge volume of onshore fresh air and sunshine) and school is remote only (for a 2 year old this is TERRIBLE).
Worst of all, despite the talk of being "science driven" they have not been releasing age banded fatality rates by variant and a timely basis so folks can make informed decisions.
We got fed so much BS that the hit is going to be very long lasting in terms of credibility of the "establishment".
My father has a phd in a hard science. My wife has a phd in a hard science. If you are losing these folks, you are losing LOTS of folks.
That makes me wonder, what IS the fatality rate for 5 year olds. Seriously give me a table. Is it lower than just random accidents per 100?
Finally, why can't I wear a mask (N95 with ventilator) that is comfortable so easier to wear and protects me. ANd others can make their own decisions. Instead we spent huge amounts of effort trying to force people who may not have believed in mask wearing to wear masks, but these masks (cloth / surgical) were I suspect largely ineffective.