to be fitted ... but yes, I've seen what you said before.

any DIYer like myself could buy them.

The more expensive good ones with rubber gasket and replaceable filters come in small, medium and large and fitting them is easy enough. If you can figure out a shoe size you can figure out a mask! Yes, you do want to seal it against your face but its not rocket science. (the fitting instructions are included).

As far as the disposable type, yes there are CHEAP crappy ones that dont work, dont fit tight against the face, but spending a little bit more you can get good ones. that work very well. N95 or N100 - I used to buy the N100s for extra prtoection for lead paint removal.

I have one of the big honkin respirator type that Im going to start wearing in certain situations as people are getting REALLY lax.... downright rude sometimes.... and not bothering to maintain distance.

probably would not trust. I bet there are a lot of people making worthless masks. I have a couple of N95's, had them before all of this. ... can't find anymore now. Of the ones I looked at none said anything about protection from coronovirus ... careful wording by them IMO.

... why I'm wondering if there's any effort to change that.

effort to have them available ... but that would require a president that gave a damn about the people.

... get us more N95 masks instead of more sausage.

if trump wanted to he could have used this to get more masks made, of course knowing him he had them make more and he and Jarred have them stashed away some place waiting for the price to "double" so they can make "huge" profits off of them!

I am sure that many masks and other PPE in the US have went out the back door to other nations and the Rump patrol got its gangsta cut off the top.

Then fence them on the black market.

Yea, I don't know if those are up to the standard or not, but I got some and they are easy to wear. I can breathe through them.

I really think we're in for a 2nd wave of this and we well might see the same thing all over again.

HERE ARE SOME OF OUR PROCEDURES TO KEEP YOU SAFE IN OUR OFFICE

Every person who enters the building (including you) will have their temperature measured prior to being allowed entry to our office building.

You are required to wear a NEW blue surgical/procedure mask. Simple cloth masks/bandanas and N95 masks with valves are not as effective as a surgical mask and offer limited protection for people that are in close contact. Upon entering the building, you should ask the security personnel on the first floor for a surgical/procedure mask. If you arrive in our office without a surgical/procedural mask on, you will be sent back to the security desk to get one.

Bay Area health care professionals are warning residents who stockpiled disposable N95 respirators during the wildfires that not all face masks are created equal when it comes to slowing the transmission of the coronavirus.

While standard N95 respirators, when worn properly, can reduce the wearer’s exposure to 95% of airborne particles and protect those around them from potentially infected coughs, sneezes and other respiratory droplets; N95 respirators with a built-in exhalation valve — or one-way vent — pose a potentially serious issue.

While these types of masks protect the wearer, they do not protect others from a potentially infected cough or sneeze due to their ability to release large respiratory droplets into the air.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-officials-warn-some-N95-15208241.php

I have zero clue where to get them.

I’m traveling soon, so I bought a box of 50. I also use them in the libraries when I’m working with old texts, so they’re good to have.

I have a small stash of disposables (which is what I think you are referring to) that I use for household dusting, which provokes my asthma. I collected my stash one or two at a time on various clinic visits, where they were offered free to anyone with a cold or cough, but I never knew where to just buy a box of my own.

Thanks.

Who knows if they are up to the standard or not, because a lot of those are fake. I bought some regardless and they seem pretty comfortable. But you can search amazon for KN95 and a bunch should come up.

I hope they actually are filtering something. They are comfortable to wear even when it's hot outside. They have a nose piece that doesn't bother me at all. The ones with ear loops don't seal the face really well, but I figure they have to be better than homemade masks. You can put surgical mask on top of KN95 mask, but with hot weather it's probably not going to be very comfortable.

It says to go to the main lobby to get the approved mask. I will wear my own there and then change to the blue one provided.

And why were medical professionals wearing something that didn't protect their patients and others around them?

individuals: (don't know why the URL is so long)

https://www.newbalance.com/pd/nb-face-mask-v3---3-pack/MSK003V1-37045.html?ICID=IMG_HP_H1_PDP__10941_MW&Ecid=af_9ieob0c66Uo&src=LS&utm_source=9ieob0c66Uo&utm_campaign=1&utm_medium=affiliate&ranMID=39756&ranEAID=9ieob0c66Uo&ranSiteID=9ieob0c66Uo-DwWOWLiCdP9gtF0BSdZvJQ&siteID=9ieob0c66Uo-DwWOWLiCdP9gtF0BSdZvJQ#style=MSK003NB&size=M&width=B

• This product has been authorized by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization for use as source control by the general public as well as by Health Care Professionals in healthcare settings as to help prevent the spread of infection or illness during the COVID-19 pandemic. This product is authorized only for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of medical devices, including alternative products used as medical devices, during the COVID-19 outbreak, under section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1) unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.

... we know that these masks work to protect the wearer? The phrase "for use as source control" makes me think they work to prevent spread to other people. Am I missing something?

tia
las

You can see how helpful that would be in slowing transmission. Now if we only had a potus who would wear a mask and was not a blithering idiot, maybe we could get the majority of Americans in on the program.

The other thing is, ordinary non-surgical masks also seem to cut transmission by about 50% coming at you from others -- and again, that would be very helpful in crowds. I'll definitely take 50% over zero percent.

Disclaimer: this is the best I've been able to glean from ever-changing public health advice.

According to CDC. They may protect you, but they do not protect others from you. So the general population is discouraged from wearing them. Remember, the main purpose of masks is to protect others and prevent spread of the virus.

See post #11 for why my opthamologist requires surgical masks and will reject you if you have a valved N-95.

protect myself.

... then why should I?

Make it mandatory or it's pointless, at least for my area.

Note: I'm wearing a thin cotton mask underneath my valved N95 mask, to be more conscientious about it (which the people around here don't deserve).

...does have 3 layers and is machine washable and dryable.

Have you tried them? They actually look like they might be comfortable enough to wear. I measured my face -- and I'm a size medium.

We have a box of N95s left over from the last great regional fire, but the rigid metal nose-piece is not just uncomfortable, it really hurts. I finally had to mold that part around the handle of a kitchen utensil, which rather wrecked the sealing properties, but at least made it wearable.

Thanks for the link.

daily press briefing, he was at the NB factory in Lawrence MA.

I have been sewing fabric masks so I think I will just stick with them.

with all the people running around NOT wearing masks and social distancing he was recommending that to protect ourselves we should ALL start to wear N95 masks not just cloth or surgical masks.

Cloth masks prevent an infected person from spreading a significant amount of the virus. But they don't protect the wearer very well from getting it through airborne particles. The 95 in N95s means that 95% of particles in the air are filtered out.

I see so many people around here after we've gone back to "normal" business not wearing masks and congregating in groups that I started looking to buy more N95s (I had 2 I found in the shed and the attic.)

Using the google I found a place in Long Beach, California that makes N95s for about $10 each. They are FDA certified. They are designed to filter bacteria and viruses. They come with directions on how to put them on. They arrived in less than a week after ordering. They're made in the USA. A little pricey, but I don't mind paying a bit more if it keeps me from getting the virus from some idiot running around with no PPE.

I also ran across masks for sale called KN95. Wondering what the difference was I found out that the K indicated that they must meet the Asian standards. Very much the same as the regular N95s but apparently a bit harder to breathe through.



https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/HealthU/2020/03/06/answered-4-questions-about-flu-masks/