Advice on mask-wearing to protect against Covid-19

Why We Need to Upgrade Our Face Masks—and Where to Get Them
https://www.scientificamerican.com/...upgrade-our-face-masks-and-where-to-get-them/
There is now a cornucopia of high-filtration respirator-style masks on the market, including N95s, Chinese-made KN95s and South Korean–made KF94s.

They have been widely available and relatively affordable for months and provide better protection than cloth or surgical masks.

Yet it was not until September 10 that the CDC finally updated its guidance to say the general public could wear N95s and other medical-grade masks now that they are in sufficient supply.
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CDC: Types of Masks and Respirators
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html
CDC said:
Updates as of September 23, 2021

Added section on considerations for children

Updates as of September 10, 2021

Made minor updates to the sections on Cloth Masks and Disposable Masks
Updated the section on Masks that Meet a Standard
Added section about Respirators that Meet International Standards (e.g., KN95s)
Added considerations for use of NIOSH-approved respirators because the availability of NIOSH-approved N95 respirators has increased significantly over the last several months
Added section on Alternative Masks for Special Situations
Updated section on Choosing a Mask or Respirator for Different Situations
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Meanwhile in Sweden, the public health agency is still not recommending face masks (except on public transport during rush hour), despite tightening several other recommendations today.

No talk about airborne transmission at the press conference today either. The main focus is still on droplets and the importance of washing your hands, and things like keeping at least a 1 meter distance between groups of seated guests in restaurants, etc...
 
mango said:
Meanwhile in Sweden, the public health agency is still not recommending face masks (except on public transport during rush hour), despite tightening several other recommendations today.

No talk about airborne transmission at the press conference today either. The main focus is still on droplets and the importance of washing your hands, and things like keeping at least a 1 meter distance between groups of seated guests in restaurants, etc...
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Hey that kind of reminds me of that whole security theater where air travellers have to take off their shoes for... something or another. You know shoes, so dangerous.

Yay for security theaters! They work just as well in public health. At making it clear it's just theater. People love that when they see it, it brings confidence in authorities. Well, negative confidence but a plus sign is basically two minus signs so it's just as good to have twice the signs!
 
rvallee said:
Hey that kind of reminds me of that whole security theater where air travellers have to take off their shoes for... something or another. You know shoes, so dangerous.
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That began as a result of a British terrorist trying to set off a suicide bomb while he was on a plane. It had been built into his shoes. Other passengers realised he was trying to set something alight and managed to stop him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Reid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_shoe_bomb_attempt
 
mango said:
Meanwhile in Sweden, the public health agency is still not recommending face masks (except on public transport during rush hour), despite tightening several other recommendations today.

No talk about airborne transmission at the press conference today either. The main focus is still on droplets and the importance of washing your hands, and things like keeping at least a 1 meter distance between groups of seated guests in restaurants, etc...
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Only 1 in 10 travellers follow the recommendation to wear masks on public transport during rush hour, according to a recent informal study done by a public service radio channel and news station.

Here's how the public health agency is presenting the mask recommendation (issued 8 December), in case anyone is interested.
 
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Merged thread

"CDC’s new approach to covid means most Americans can go without masks"
Link to Washington Post article ("gift" link, no paywall for 14 days) - https://wapo.st/3K4k5Ql

Link to new CDC guidelines - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html

I'm frustrated by this news.

Overnight the USA map went from mostly red (high risk) to green/yellow/red (different levels of risk). See maps in quoted section below.

It's as if the CDC thought, "Hey, we don't like seeing so many high risk counties. I know, let's change how we measure risk!"

A lot of counties where masks were recommended changed status to you only need a mask if you are at higher risk.

Did the CDC completely forget about Long Covid? Or they don't care? Hospitalization/death are not the only risks but that's what the new metrics seem to be based on.

And is it right for CDC to treat mask wearing as individual choice based on personal risk vs. a public health measure based on community spread of infection? It seems like this focus on individual behavior vs. what's safe for the community is not right. But maybe that's just me.

Anyway, I'm rambling now... I hope this makes sense.
USA COVID risk maps said:
Old COVID risk map.png New COVID risk map.png
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NPR article about CDC's new risk assessment and mask guidelines -

It's safe to unmask in many places, says the CDC. These experts aren't quite ready
NPR article said:
Friday's change in masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes as many states and cities across the U.S. are starting to — or already have — ease up on mask mandates.

According to the new CDC metrics, about 70% of the U.S. population lives in a place where they no longer need to wear a mask to protect themselves and others. Their calculation is based on three variables: rates of new cases, new hospital admissions and hospital capacity.

But infectious disease specialists surveyed by NPR say they're not ditching their masks just yet. Many still plan to wear them because they live in a part of the country where the coronavirus is still spreading widely — at least for the time being.
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EDIT: This article does not mention Long Covid at all. So much news coverage ignores this risk.
 
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Denise said:
Very little that CDC has done throughout the pandemic has felt right.
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On par with the failure with AIDS. The failure of public health agencies during the pandemic has been a constant right from the start. It's pretty much the same everywhere: confused and conflicting messaging, inaccurate predictions that never lead to anyone changing how or why they predict certain things, relying on inaccurate predictions from people with a history of inaccurate predictions, constantly reacting to predictable things, then aggravating those things.

For all the clapping about health care heroes, most of what lead to health care systems collapsing is entirely self-inflicted. It's really time to acknowledge that health is heavily political, pretending otherwise is like reacting to blatant cheating by covering it up.
 
I get the feeling that a lot of CDC pronouncements are political or they want to be popular (or idiots).

In any case, the next variant will undoubtedly cause that institution to issue another proclamation. My prediction is a new variant peak next July-August. I base my prediction on the regularity of past peaks, both in the US and South Africa.

In any case, I will monitor local hospitalizations, not PCR tests, to gauge the safety of venturing indoors in poorly ventilated spaces (most spaces) even with an N95.

And I will keep my distance from all hamsters, white-tailed deer, mink, dogs, outdoor cats, and H. sapiens. Other creatures will make the list, to be sure.
 
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Most folks probably missed this, but in one interview the CDC Director compared masks to a scarlet letter:
CDC Director said:
"I know people are tired. The scarlet letter of this pandemic is the mask. It may be painless, it may be easy, but it’s inconvenient, it’s annoying and it reminds us that we’re in the middle of a pandemic." - CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky
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Audio clip in this tweet:
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So masks are a stigma now? Something to be ashamed of? Makes no sense to me.
 
But surely reminding people they were in a pandemic, was a significant part of the point of masks?

As it's been established that they don;t really protect the wearer, and are marginally better than air at protecting others - the whole point was so other people would see a mask, and stay away from it, thus cutting down transmission possibilities.
 
It has been established that high-quality masks (which filter more than regular "surgical" masks) when fitted correctly protect others and the wearer as well, significantly reducing transmission. The lower quality masks are better than nothing; it's a shame there hasn't been more info about this. I am just reiterating this as a lot of people seem to think (incorrectly) that the masks cannot protect the wearer.
 
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