Anti-mask policies and decision makers are using the momentum of anti-masking in the context of covid to also prevent people from accessing or using respirators to protect their breathing and lungs from other hazards -- things that were accepted in many industries as standard safety protocols before 2020.
"“During his first week, Complainant started coughing up black phlegm, his throat and tongue would burn, and he began having breathing problems due to excessive smoke and fumes from the cupola. He notified Sturgeon but nothing changed, and he was not provided a respirator.”
After not receiving a respirator, the lawsuit said the man went to the dispensary room and picked up a respirator himself.
He wore the respirator for the next week until the lawsuit said the safety supervisor saw him wearing it and “immediately became very upset; he rudely admonished the Complainant in front of his co-workers for wearing the respirator and demanded that he take it off immediately.”
According to the lawsuit, he told the safety supervisor he did not feel safe doing his job without it and was pulled into a meeting the next day where he was told he would not be allowed to wear a respirator.
...
After the meeting, the complaint said he was assigned to shovel gravel for the day before going home for the weekend at the end of his shift. On Monday, his employment was terminated.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the company after learning of the alleged retaliation, and the DOL said in a statement that OSHA investigators with the Whistleblower’s Protection Program found the company violated federal protections by terminating the employee who exercised their protected rights to request protective equipment."
TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The Department of Labor (DOL) filed a lawsuit on Friday against Tyler Pipe Company alleging violations of federal whis
My new favorite thing: People making their reusable elastomeric respirators beautiful! (Usually the Dentec P100 or the Dentec N95, which are NIOSH-certified and reusable.)
(Above is the artist @/nickelpin)
I've been collecting as many of these customizations as I can find, and I think they fall into a few categories:
The first is the colorful distraction, where it seems like the aim is to make the mask colorful and cheerful — less scary — which distracts from the apocalyptic / gas mask vibes, while still being simple enough for everyday wear.
2. The second is make it fashion, where the aim is to just make something that looks so incredibly cool that you feel beautiful wearing it, and it feels like a stylish accessory. These use lots of shiny elements and swirling patterns (all of the below by @/nickelpin)
3. And the third is punk where the mask customization embraces and enhances its non-conforming / resistance undertones. My favorite in this category is by @/andrewshumate, who installed a CO2 monitor and set it up so the filters change color based on the CO2 levels in the space.
Disclaimer: I am not an immunologist or any kind of expert but I do stay up to date on the science. This is me presenting to you what I understand.
Disclaimer 2: This post assumes that you agree with me that COVID is still a relevant threat to personal & public health, and that measures must be taken. If you disagree with that, I'm not going to try to convince you on this post. I also won't cover vaccines, because I assume you're staying up to date with boosters.
Table of contents:
How to know how prevalent COVID is in your area
How COVID spreads from person to person (in order to better understand what precautions to take and why)
Respirators: what's good and bad with them, and where to find good ones
Air safety: ventilation, filtration, far-UV, and all that good stuff
Helpful pharmacy finds: nasal sprays, mouthwash, rapid antigen tests, Paxlovid, and more
My personal risk assessment guidelines
Okay, with that out of the way, let's begin!
COVID Prevalence
Assume that any official sources are significantly underreporting real case numbers. Governments and organizations want to pretend that COVID is over, so they are not testing for it as much as they should, nor are they reporting every case that they should be. Individuals who believe that COVID is over are also less likely to get tested, even if they are showing symptoms.
What's reliable, then? In short: wastewater data. Even if you're unaware that you're infected, the virus will still be present in your body and thus in your excrement as well. Many cities have wastewater testing programs that help provide a more accurate picture of how much COVID-19 is present in the community. This is a US-based source that allows you to filter for state and/or county.
How COVID spreads
COVID-19 is an airborne virus. It spreads from the nose and mouth of an infected person, and can linger in the air for up to 6 hours. Anything that involves air leaving the infected person's face will cause viral particles to enter the air, including: (in more or less ascending order of how many viral particles the action spreads)
Breathing (least amount of virus put into the air, but still an amount)
Talking
Singing
Sneezing
Coughing (one of the most effective ways to spew viral particles into the air)
Once viral particles are in the air, they will remain there for hours if left undisturbed. During that time, anyone who breathes them in can be infected. Depending on many factors (such as ventilation, the size of the space, the infectiousness of the person, etc.) an uninfected person may become infected after just a few moments of breathing in air that contains the virus.
While the virus can linger on surfaces and be spread by people touching them and then touching their faces, the primary means of transmission is airborne. Hand washing is good, but it is relatively ineffective against COVID-19.
How to prevent airborne transmission
You may think, "This is dire. If the virus is spread this easily, how can we ever avoid getting it?"
And that's where the Swiss cheese model comes in.
Let's talk about some of these layers, in light of the fact that COVID-19 is airborne. I'll talk more about each of them later, but for now, an overview:
Air cleaning: If the virus remains in the air for a shorter length of time, or if its concentration in the air is reduced, then it is less likely to infect someone. Ventilation, filtration, and far-UV are all helpful for cleaning the air.
Masks: If the infected person wears a covering over their nose and mouth, then the viral particles that exit their face will be caught by this covering instead of escaping into the air. This reduces chances of transmission to others.
Respirators: If an uninfected person wears a sealed covering over their nose and mouth, then the covering will filter viral particles out of the air before it reaches the wearer. This is one of the most effective ways to prevent infection.
Nasal sprays: If an uninfected person uses a nasal spray (not just any nasal spray, but we'll talk about that later) then the viral particles that they breathe in from the air will be less likely to bind to receptors in the nose, making infection less likely.
The takeaway here is that while airborne transmission is daunting to prevent, it is not impossible, and every layer of protection counts. Don't lose hope!
Respirators
A respirator is a covering over the nose & mouth, intended to reduce the likelihood of the wearer breathing in the virus. While some people use "respirator" synonymously with "mask," I am moving away from doing so, for two reasons:
"Mask" has become emotionally and politically charged, making people less likely to engage when they see it recommended
"Mask" evokes a loose blue surgical mask, which is essentially only useful in protecting others from the wearer, not in protecting the wearer
A respirator is intended to protect the wearer. To do this, it must have a proper seal on the face; meaning, if the wearer can breathe in any air that does NOT first pass through the respirator, then the respirator is less effective.
How can you tell if you have a proper seal on your respirator? This resource will help.
Here is a thorough breakdown of the effectiveness of different kinds of respirators.
If you are willing to pay more for a reusable yet effective respirator, I've heard excellent things about the Flomask.
Here is a source for decent quality respirators online.
Here is a source for extra breathable respirators.
Here is yet another source for quality respirators (as well as some other helpful PPE).
Air safety
Essentially, as I understand it, the air in most indoor spaces is stagnant. Whatever people breathe out into stagnant air will stay there for hours. In order to prevent virus transmission, you want to have as much air circulation (movement), air replacement (new air), and air cleaning (rendering the existing air safer) as possible. A common standard is 6 ACH, which means six air changes per hour. Being outdoors (with a breeze) is approximately equivalent to 12 ACH. For more of the science behind this, check out this source.
How to provide circulation:
Fans, especially ceiling fans
Open windows
More sophisticated central air systems
How to provide air replacement:
Open windows (these provide about 1 ACH)
Sophisticated central air systems
How to clean the existing air:
Air filtration. You want HEPA filters, which are designed specifically to trap airborne particles like viruses. When looking at air purifiers, look for the CADR, which stands for "clean air delivery rate." The higher the CADR, the better.
Far-UV. This is a relatively new technology that uses certain wavelengths of UV light to kill viruses in the air. It's highly effective, but also expensive at this stage
In an ideal scenario, you want to have all 3 of these things in your space: circulation, air replacement, and air cleaning/purifying. However, any is better than none - remember the Swiss cheese model.
Some suggestions for how to make your air cleaner to breathe:
If you're handy, try building a Corsi-Rosenthal Box. This is a DIY air purifier that has been proven to be pretty effective at cleaning the air. Here is more information on what it is and how to make one: https://cleanaircrew.org/box-fan-filters
Non-DIY air purifiers can be found in stores and online. Again, look for ones with HEPA filtration and high CADR
Open windows whenever possible
Turn on fans whenever possible
Helpful Pharmacy Finds
Nasal sprays: some nasal sprays can help prevent infection with COVID-19. Some are better than others at this. Not all of them can be found in pharmacies or in all parts of the world, but online shopping should help compensate for that. Here is a breakdown of the best active ingredients in nasal sprays and which brands carry them.
Other brands I've heard are good are Covixyl and Enovid.
Rapid antigen tests: Most people know at this point that rapid antigen tests often provide false negatives. However, not everyone knows that there are ways to make them more accurate, and that is to swab the inside of the mouth & throat in addition to the nose. Here are detailed instructions as to how:
Mouthwash: A study has found that mouthwashes containing cetylpyridinium chloride can kill viruses in saliva, which is a main place in the body that viruses congregate. I was easily able to find a mouthwash containing this ingredient at my local pharmacy. Here's the study.
Paxlovid: Paxlovid is an antiviral drug that can help prevent an existing infection from becoming severe. It must be prescribed by a doctor, and must be taken within a few days of symptom onset. I don't have a lot of information on this, but given that you'd need to see your doctor to get it anyway, the doctor can fill you in on more.
My personal precaution philosophy
When I take zero precautions:
Alone with my girlfriend, who lives with me and who is also COVID-conscious
Alone outdoors, such as when hiking
When I take the most precautions (nasal spray beforehand, sealed respirator during, mouthwash afterwards, trying to stay in ventilated & filtered spaces):
Indoor public spaces, such as work, the grocery store, public transit, concerts, and the doctor's office
Air travel
When I take some precautions, and what precautions I take:
Outdoor public spaces. If crowded (i.e. social distancing of 6 ft cannot be achieved) then I use nasal spray, respirator, and mouthwash. If not crowded, I may rely solely on nasal spray and mouthwash.
Indoor private spaces with friends & family I don't live with, and/or friends & family who aren't COVID cautious. I do my best to establish clean air & ventilation, and then I use nasal spray & mouthwash. If someone is known to be sick, I avoid contact until they are better.
These are my personal precautions, in case you find them helpful. You may take more or fewer precautions for yourself depending on your own risk assessment.
Thank you for reading to the end of my post! I hope you've gained some helpful knowledge. If you have more information or resources to add, please feel free to reblog with them. Let's stay safe together!
COVID deniers & minimizers who clown on this post will be blocked.
Learn to wear a high fitting quality respirator. Be careful with the straps as that determines how much use you can get out of it. Imo, head straps over earloops but whatever you can afford, you must find a way to make it less loose to protect you against airborne transmission (think of the way smoke travels). Learn about ventilation & filtration. Build your community. You do not need to be rich, you need to be ready for disinformation & misinformation and well-intentioned but ultimately harmful minimizing and denial. Consistently ask who benefits from the actions they ask of you.
"Highlighting COVID-19 racial disparities can reduce support for safety precautions among White U.S. residents" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362200257X
Jokes on everybody because covid weakens your immune system. We will all become the vulnerable class we only deign to read about from qualified newspapers until we perish under ill health because we have stopped listening to people. Repeatedly getting covid these last few years is why you are sick all the time.
Asymptomatic COVID-19 is when you contract SARS-CoV-2 but don’t develop symptoms that are commonly associated with the COVID-19 infection.
40% of individuals can be asymptomatic and can still spread COVID. You are not safe unless you take precautions. Wearing a respirator is good protection.
hey did you see this report that some of 3M's respiratory protection products contain PFAS? I thought you might be interested in this cause from your selfies you seem to be wearing p100 filters which contain PFAS.
this sucks but I'm not sure if the PFAS are an integral part of the filter or not (NCBM filters or rather whatever the ones that came before [GOST?] the ones we have now have asbestos in them so the same thing may be going on). I'll try to read up later and figure out what's going on, thank you v much
Hi! Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do you know about reusable covid-safe masks? I've never stopped wearing the fabric masks, but I'd like to step up my protection. I'm also just worried about all the trash single-use masks will produce -- I want to be environmentally responsible too -- but a lot of mask resources don't seem to specify much on reusability/washability. I'd be really grateful for anything you can send my way.
First off, reusable filters don't offer enough protection. You need at least n95 rated material, and washing it breaks it down and removes its electrostatic charge, rendering it less protective. There's no 100% earthy-crunchy green way to give yourself adequate covid protection. What elastomeric masks do, however, is reduce the amount of waste in reducing filter size. This also brings the cost of filters down in most cases. Some companies exist that recycle masks too, but I only have links Canadian examples and I don't know where you are.
There's a lot of elastomeric masks out there. 3M has over 3 dozen n95 or p100 models to choose from. There's even forced-air options if you wanna go for the absolute best protection, but in all but the highest risk and research covid scenarios, it's major overkill.
Because I don't know you or your measurements, I can't tell you what mask will 100% fit you. Personally, my everyday wear is a big-nose model Flo Mask, and for high risk scenarios, I break out my MSA Advantage 300. There's dozens of models and levels of protection out there ranging from full face, forced air respirators to the thong-like B99 B2 that only barely covers my mouth and nose. The zero covid reddit might be a great place to ask people for recommendations based upon your concerns with fitting an elastomeric to your specific face type: low/high bridge, shallow/chubby cheeks, and chin size all impact which elastomeric is likely to get and keep a good seal in use. You might have to buy 2 or 3 before you find *the one* is a problem you may encounter, but of all the elastomerics I've seen, Flo Mask has the best general fit and would be a good starting point.
Basically, even disposable masks will prevent you using even more resources and plastics and such by keeping you healthy and out of the hospital. Someone who uses and throws away 2 or 4 masks every couple weeks (depending on your specific needs, could be a little more if you like sweat at work a lot or something) is far less impact than a ICU stay for covid. Also, you could help prevent covid *and* offset everyone's mask waste by eliminating Taylor Swift since she flies two private jets to all her events which spread more covid than any other superspreader event. (For legal reasons, I am joking)
