Info Value of Masks and other factors to lower Covid-19 Risk while Traveling

[tursiops]

New publication in the British Medical Journal presents a model that summarizes and extends the available data on risk levels associated with various situations, for example short or prolonged contact times, low or high occupancy spaces, indoors or outdoors, good or bad ventilation, wearing a mask or not, and being silent, or speaking, or shouting/singing, or heavy exercise. As you might guess, the lowest risk is in an outdoors, well-ventilated space that has low occupancy, short-contact times, while wearing a mask; the highest risk is no masks, indoors in a poorly ventilated high-occupancy space, while doing heavy exercise.

• It would be wrong, based on this, to say that masks have no effect; it would also be wrong to say that masks are all you need to lower your risk level.
• Your best strategy is to avoid high-occupancy spaces (especially indoors) and prolonged contacts, and to wear a mask.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Very interesting.
However I do not see data regarding the different types of masks (surgical, FFP1, FFP2, FFP3).
As I prefer always the safest option, I only use FFP3 masks (3M Aura 8830), properly placed for perfect airtight sealing around my nose.
They are expensive (5€ each), but my life and health are more valuable.
I am also fighting with my employer for having powerful forced ventilation units with enthalpic energy saver installed in all rooms, but till now I did not manage yet to win this battle.
Thank you for the scientific paper, now I have a new powerful document for trying again to convince the management to spend the money required for installing these machines.

 

[tursiops]

Very interesting.
However I do not see data regarding the different types of masks (surgical, FFP1, FFP2, FFP3).
As I prefer always the safest option, I only use FFP3 masks (3M Aura 8830), properly placed for perfect airtight sealing around my nose.
They are expensive (5€ each), but my life and health are more valuable.
I am also fighting with my employer for having powerful forced ventilation units with enthalpic energy saver installed in all rooms, but till now I did not manage yet to win this battle.
Thank you for the scientific paper, now I have a new powerful document for trying again to convince the management to spend the money required for installing these machines.

Good luck. Sometimes data is not enough....

 

[Angelo Farina]

Good luck. Sometimes data is not enough....

Absolutely true.
But at least now some data are available...
It is very hard to fight without good data. Here the government is evaluating the possibility to remove the obbligation to wear FFP2 masks in closed spaces crowded with many people.
I hope that these new data can avoid such a decision, which is only motivated by polythical reasons, as some electors are tired of wearing highly protective masks.

 

[drrich2]

I am also fighting with my employer for having powerful forced ventilation units with enthalpic energy saver installed in all rooms, but till now I did not manage yet to win this battle.

As more and more of the population are vaccinated, and the risk to the non-immunocompromised and non-advanced elderly for severe illness (e.g.: hospitalization or death) drops way down, not only will risk of contracting COVID-19 be factored in, but the risk of serious consequences.

Put another way, early in the pandemic, arguments that we tolerated the flu season without social distancing, masks, etc..., didn't work because COVID-19 was so much more dangerous than the flu. But once people are fully vaccinated, and particularly once boosted, then what? Once everyone in a given area who wishes to be is vaccinated (or very young and at extremely low risk for severe COVID-19), how guarded should they be about the risk of catching it?

Willingness to wear masks has dropped precipitously. IIRC, the CDC has shifted focus more towards looking at serious illness rather than 'just' daily new case counts (which granted may be harder to gauge, since testing frequency dropped off).

On the other hand, flu is seasonal and SARS-CoV-2 seems to be year round, and one article I saw claimed mutants 3-5 times as fast as influenza.

 

[Angelo Farina]

As more and more of the population are vaccinated, and the risk to the non-immunocompromised and non-advanced elderly for severe illness (e.g.: hospitalization or death) drops way down, not only will risk of contracting COVID-19 be factored in, but the risk of serious consequences.

Put another way, early in the pandemic, arguments that we tolerated the flu season without social distancing, masks, etc..., didn't work because COVID-19 was so much more dangerous than the flu. But once people are fully vaccinated, and particularly once boosted, then what? Once everyone in a given area who wishes to be is vaccinated (or very young and at extremely low risk for severe COVID-19), how guarded should they be about the risk of catching it?

Willingness to wear masks has dropped precipitously. IIRC, the CDC has shifted focus more towards looking at serious illness rather than 'just' daily new case counts (which granted may be harder to gauge, since testing frequency dropped off).

On the other hand, flu is seasonal and SARS-CoV-2 seems to be year round, and one article I saw claimed mutants 3-5 times as fast as influenza.

True. But despite a vaccinaton of more than 90% of the population, here in Italy Covid is still killing an average of 200 people per day, which is an excess mortality of 25% (700 deaths per day was our baseline in the 10 years before 2020).
As soon as the effect of the removal of restrictions on masks will appear, this number will double, making Covid to come back again to be the first cause of death, as it has been for the past 6 months.
I will continue using my FFP3 masks in enclosed spaces.
And I really cannot understand people using masks with lower ratings or no rating at all...
But good ventilation is something also very useful for other topics. Apart Covid, a proper mechanical ventilation makes the rooms more confortable, and if proper heat exchangers are employed, a lot of energy is saved.
I was teaching to my students of architecture and engineering the advantages of modern mechanical ventilation systems since 12 years ago: Covid has just added another reason for installing these systems.
At my home I have 4 units (Mitsubishi Lossnay)...

 

[Robert H. Diver]

I got Covid right when it first came to the US. Haven’t worn a mask except 3 times and 2 were to fly…no vaccine and no mask, I’m fine.

 

[tursiops]

I got Covid right when it first came to the US. Haven’t worn a mask except 3 times and 2 were to fly…no vaccine and no mask, I’m fine.

How does your unique experience contribute to this thread?

 

[JohnN]

I got Covid right when it first came to the US. Haven’t worn a mask except 3 times and 2 were to fly…no vaccine and no mask, I’m fine.

As valid as someone saying they smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day for 30 years and never developed cancet

Proves you just can't fix stupid

 

[Joneill]

New publication in the British Medical Journal presents a model that summarizes and extends the available data on risk levels associated with various situations, for example short or prolonged contact times, low or high occupancy spaces, indoors or outdoors, good or bad ventilation, wearing a mask or not, and being silent, or speaking, or shouting/singing, or heavy exercise. As you might guess, the lowest risk is in an outdoors, well-ventilated space that has low occupancy, short-contact times, while wearing a mask; the highest risk is no masks, indoors in a poorly ventilated high-occupancy space, while doing heavy exercise.

• It would be wrong, based on this, to say that masks have no effect; it would also be wrong to say that masks are all you need to lower your risk level.
• Your best strategy is to avoid high-occupancy spaces (especially indoors) and prolonged contacts, and to wear a mask.

View attachment 718734

Those charts don’t seem to make a very strong case for masks at all… seems very little difference.