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left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Sat Jan 8, 2022, 11:00 AM Jan 2022

Cloth masks won't protect against the omicron variant of COVID-19, experts say

Health experts say cloth masks do not protect against the current dominant COVID-19 variant omicron. Linsey Marr, who works as a researcher at Virginia Tech, told NPR, “cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron.”

Though cloth masks rose to prominence due to the ongoing pandemic, and many people still wear them as a form of protection. According to USA Today, health officials suggest cloth masks do not protect against small virus particles seeping into the mouth or nose. Omicron is now regarded as the most contagious and easily transmissible variant of COVID-19. Experts say maybe not even cloth masks with thick material can stop the variant.

Dr. Robert Wachter is the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco also spoke with NPR about the contagious variant. “It’s very contagious,” Wachter told NPR. “And the kind of encounter that you could have had with prior versions of the virus that would have left you uninfected, there’s now a good chance you will get infected from it.”

Instead, experts recommend people wear N95 or KN95 masks to protect against omicron.

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2022/01/cloth-masks-wont-protect-against-the-omicron-variant-experts-say.html


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Cloth masks won't protect against the omicron variant of COVID-19, experts say (Original Post) left-of-center2012 Jan 2022 OP
With no K95s in the house right now I am double masking Sherman A1 Jan 2022 #1
I bought 10 KN95 masks online for $11 left-of-center2012 Jan 2022 #2
Thanks for the link Sherman A1 Jan 2022 #3
I ordered the exact same mask after it was recommended by the NYTimes. Link below. Native Jan 2022 #4
Excellent info. Thanks. Pinback Jan 2022 #5
Good info and visual, thanks for posting! appalachiablue Jan 2022 #6
KF-94 are good too IbogaProject Feb 2022 #7

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
1. With no K95s in the house right now I am double masking
Sat Jan 8, 2022, 11:02 AM
Jan 2022

using a cloth mask and a surgical paper type inside of it. Perhaps not the best solution, but it's better than nothing.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
2. I bought 10 KN95 masks online for $11
Sat Jan 8, 2022, 11:18 AM
Jan 2022

I saw them, and their website, mentioned in an article citing CDC suggested masks.

When they arrived, I liked them so much I've ordered another 10.

Pinback

(12,885 posts)
5. Excellent info. Thanks.
Sat Jan 8, 2022, 11:48 AM
Jan 2022

We switched to N95s a few months ago, and I've been happy with them. For people who wear glasses and/or hearing aids, the headband variety is less annoying, although they take a couple of extra seconds to put on and remove.

Lots of epidemiologists and other medical professionals are urging people to upgrade their masks, and with affordable options widely available, I hope more people will do so to help slow the current breakneck pace of virus spread.

This information from the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) helps explain why some face coverings are more effective than others:

IbogaProject

(3,648 posts)
7. KF-94 are good too
Mon Feb 7, 2022, 07:58 PM
Feb 2022

KF-94 is certified by the Korean Government to be as good as N95. They just label them differently. They are likely better than KN95, as those are self certified where the KF94 are Korean government certified. I bought two on impulse in NYC ChinaTown back in the late fall, and got more when Omicro was first spreading.

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