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Related: About this forumCloth 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. Its 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, theres 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
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)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)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.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)I will order some right away!
Native
(6,555 posts)Pinback
(12,885 posts)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:
appalachiablue
(42,906 posts)IbogaProject
(3,648 posts)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.