"COVID is back" only in the sense that media+govts are talking about it again. It never went away.
Just because you hadn't been hearing the word doesn't mean it wasn't being spoken about, knowingly or otherwise.
While the aforementioned entities don't suffer symptoms or illnesses that necessitate explanation, they do discuss delays, worker shortages, supply chain disruption, etc.
On the other hand, an individual must use euphemisms like allergies, summer cold, under the weather, out sick, fatigue, brain fog, diabetes, autoimmune disease, cancer, natural causes, etc, to gloss over new or ongoing health issues.
The Kimberly-Clark duckbill N95 in small (54066) seems to fit excellent on my 3 and 5yo; 1yo's head is almost as big as 3, so expect it'll fit well, too
These are the first ones that seem to fit well enough to bother with a DIY qualitative fit test -- hoping to do one soon 🤞
Downside is the straps. They're good on first wear, but stretch enough that I assume fit will be worse, hence. There might be space on the edges of the 'bill' to staple on some new ones, though; might test a few hacks
There's one layer of swiss cheese that I would never omit:
Respirators.
This is the only layer that can prevent close-proximity transmission.
As long as you're wearing one that you know seals to your face and isn't soaked or super old, it's going to protect you from all the invisible ways #TrojanAir can get into your nose and mouth.
And even if you haven't proven that it seals, it's damp, or you've worn it a bunch of times before, it's still going to provide more protection than any other layer(s).
Please, please don't think you can compensate for being unmasked by utilizing combinations of other layers.
All the other layers are designed to make a respirator more effective or provide backup in the event a respirator lets a bit of something through. Even vaccines were trialled in the context of universal masking; their original efficacy numbers are a product of that environment.
If you can't get your hands on any respirators, reach out and I'll connect you to someone in your region who can help. If I have to ship you some myself, I will.
If different variants can have different exhaled viral load, it's reasonable to assume the same of excretions.
And really, any unique characteristic that can be used against the virus is something that's going to be selected out as long as we keep giving it trillions of opportunities to mutate.
I think we'd best have a conversation about mask efficacy in the context of time-to-infection, viral load and other highly-speculative estimations that have been proffered over the course of the pandemic thus far.
You cannot build a rock-solid scientific model on top of such things.
To all propagand... er... “journal”ists whom it may concern,
I-NoLonger-GAF what “health officials” think isn't “concerning”, or any other opinion they have about the risks/threats that infectious diseases don't pose. Let's be real: after the past three years, they've proven they're all ‘officious’ and no ‘health’.
US fire-season reminder to watch your indoor CO2 levels (get a monitor) and rig up a filtered fresh-air intake if you need to to get them below 1000-1200 if you can. Filters don’t remove CO2! You gotta ventilate.
(I know, it’s not always easy, but sometimes it is. I’m not above duct-taping an air filter into a partly opened window, myself.)
@knizer this article's got a bunch of good data on #CO2Monitors; recommendations are at the end and are more or less the same units I would consider trustworthy:
Where is the best place to get a box of N95s for a small price?
Also: what are best practices for reusing N95s? How much protection am I sacrificing by reusing a mask? How many times can I reuse a mask?
I'm having to teach in person again for the first time since March of 2020, so I'm newly concerned about keeping myself safe in public spaces. Any straightforward, up-to-date info is appreciated.
>SARS-CoV-2 is a protean virus. It seems designed to reinfect a previously infected host, changing its outer coat as well as some of its properties.
>We all remember Omicron and how it swept the world that had already experienced several waves of Covid cases. There were so many changes in the outer spike protein of Omicron that previous infections did little to protect from new infections. How much previous infection protects from disease still remains in question.
>BA.2… contained 54 amino acid mutations from the original Wuhan virus. The cause for concern with BA.2.86 is that it contains 41 amino acid mutations on top of the BA.2 mutations, totaling 95 mutations from the Wuhan virus.
>BA.2.86 is likely a common descendant of one of the original Omicron variants, BA.2, [?and a more recent variant, XBB?]. In the spike protein of BA.2.86, we see 60 amino acid mutations, including substitutions and deletions. For context, the Alpha variant, which fueled the second-largest surge of cases in the United States behind the initial Omicron surge, contained just ten spike amino acid mutations. Dr. Eric Topol describes BA.2.86 as "Omicron Squared."
>…the updated Covid vaccine set to be released this fall is designed to protect against the XBB.1.5 variant, but not BA.2.86. The hope is that the vaccine will protect against BA.2.86 should it widely circulate, but it would be unsurprising if the variant evaded booster protection, given the degree to which BA.2.86 is mutated in the spike is extreme.
With widespread seeding across effectively the entire population of the planet including immunocompromised (current & future) patients, we are just guaranteeing that we'll have new dangerous variants.
There's no way to chase these variants without #ZeroCovid .
@eyesquash it's true that #BaggyBlues aren't great at protecting against airborne pathogens / bioaerosols, either for the wearer or those around them, though if everyone was wearing them in shared air, levels of transmission would still be much lower.
Even imperfect, incomplete masking with non-respirators by a majority of the population contributed to the eradication of a particular strain of influenza in 2020-21. By now, however, SARS-CoV-2 has mutated to be far more contagious than any strain of flu; it's probably neck and neck with measles -- the most transmissible pathogen we know -- at the very least.
Respirators, otoh, are incredibly effective at protecting the wearer, though they are even better at protecting others.
In practice, an #N95 can achieve upwards of 99% inward filtration efficacy. #P100 is even better -- upwards of 99.97% -- rendering scv2 impotent, as long as the fit+seal are good.
That's why hospital infection prevention and control policy specifies N95s, elastomerics, or PAPRs in the presence of airborne pathogens -- and why it's unconscionable that they've continued to stick their collective heads in the sand, ignore science and the relevant in-field experts, and deny that #CovidIsAirborne.
It's unfortunate that so many have fallen victim to the deliberate mis/disinfo that masks don't work, especially given that so many of us have gone 3+ years without contracting #SARSCoV2 -- or any other respiratory infection, for that matter.
I continue to be flabbergasted at [people in general, but especially] healthcare professionals in 🇨🇦 who question masking. This is still PHAC's current guidance for community settings:
3M elastomeric half face masks are lightweight & reliable respiratory protection when paired with the various P100 filter options & properly deployed/worn. They come in 3 sizes & are reusable with user replaceable parts. These (using the disc style filters) are also excellent for MRI & CT scans, as they contain no metal.
Because NAAT offers a 95 to 99% accurate result (as long as the sample was collected properly), I feel confident that this negative result is a true negative.
No symptom development. Rigorous #N95 use, plus nasal spray & mouthwash, works ✅
Surely we aren't still assuming only those with symptoms are sick and/or can transmit.
So then, is there widespread access to testing that can be done anytime, anywhere, to ensure we catch the absolute glut of a-, presymptomatic, and maybe even persistent cases?
Three days later and several more people are showing symptoms of #covid after being exposed to the confirmed positive case from Tuesday. 😵💫
Obviously, they’re still coming to work/school. Obviously, I’m keeping my #N95 on and using nasal spray and mouthwash multiple times per day. Hoping my 2x #Novavax is offering a little extra protection!
#CovidDispatch from #NYC: I’m hearing anecdotes about recent/current #COVID infections, and symptoms that appear to characterize the newest #VariantSoup are respiratory in nature. Specifically:
Bad cough; “water in lungs” feeling; trouble taking deep breaths; lung congestion.
Since almost any symptom could be caused by #covid19 these days, stay alert and continue being #CovidSafe!
Antibodies fade, and not all people seroconvert in the first place.
What this means IMHO is that nearly 80% have had a recent COVID infection for sure, and it might actually be much higher than that accounting for non seroconversion.
IMHO, the Novid prevalance is in the single digits or less .. just look at the prevalence of masking; there's no way those non-maskers haven't yet contracted COVID.
Can’t believe “experts” are on the weather channel right now telling everyone to wear #N95 respirators outdoors while standing outdoors, NOT WEARING N95s, just holding them…
I’ve started collecting my own examples of “my kids are always sick” from #SocialMedia…it’s getting increasingly more common to see these kinds of posts dominating my feeds.
I think it’s important to keep sharing this kind of anecdote, esp when it seems like everyone is desperately embracing the #COVID “being over” nonsense.