Think I'm just gonna start getting a shot every 6 months. I can probably get Walgreens to give me another one if I pay cash up front. That's my plan at least.
Posting has slowed on this thread but, much like COVID itself, it hasn't gone away, and probably won't any time soon, so sadly probably need a new thread IMHO, at least until such time that the fascists finish their takeover and all threads converge in the final apocalypse...
"Let's take a look at the scores! The girls are at the square root of Pi, while the boys are still at a crudely drawn picture of a duck. Clearly, it's anybody's game!"
+8
Options
TetraNitroCubaneThe DjinneratorAt the bottom of a bottleRegistered Userregular
Studies show that even when the virus is mild and exclusively confined to the lungs, it can still provoke inflammation in the brain and impair brain cells’ ability to regenerate.
Autopsy studies of people who had severe COVID-19 but died months later from other causes showed that the virus was still present in brain tissue. This provides evidence that contrary to its name, SARS-CoV-2 is not only a respiratory virus, but it can also enter the brain in some individuals. But whether the persistence of the virus in brain tissue is driving some of the brain problems seen in people who have had COVID-19 is not yet clear.
Most recently, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine assessed cognitive abilities such as memory, planning and spatial reasoning in nearly 113,000 people who had previously had COVID-19. The researchers found that those who had been infected had significant deficits in memory and executive task performance.
This decline was evident among those infected in the early phase of the pandemic and those infected when the delta and omicron variants were dominant. These findings show that the risk of cognitive decline did not abate as the pandemic virus evolved from the ancestral strain to omicron.
One of the biggest enduring misconceptions about COVID currently is that it remains a respiratory disease. The damage it can to beyond the lungs is long-lasting and exceeds the acute phase of infection, and in addition to brain damage can cause a bevy of cardiovascular issues.
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
Happymask is still by far the most comfortable mask to wear for long periods. They're also washable and very functional. There are more 'severe' masks, but, unless you use exceptional mask discipline and are willing to tolerate high levels of discomfort, they don't work better.
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
I bought some generic N95s that are very comfortable. I used them a couple times on flights and haven't had any issues. Most of my flights are 2 hours long with a fairly short layover though so I basically only wear
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
3M Aura is good for long flights because it wraps around the back of your head and can be worn for hours at a time. I carry flat fold KN95 masks that wrap around my ears for short flights (easier to take on and off) or crowded areas.
+3
Options
TetraNitroCubaneThe DjinneratorAt the bottom of a bottleRegistered Userregular
3M 8293 P100 with a surgical mask over the top of it. Gives the best and most reliable seal I've been able to manage, without going full or half face respirator.
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
Happymask is still by far the most comfortable mask to wear for long periods. They're also washable and very functional. There are more 'severe' masks, but, unless you use exceptional mask discipline and are willing to tolerate high levels of discomfort, they don't work better.
I'd like to see some research that a cloth mask, even with a filter, is remotely comparable to a N95. Every single study I've seen shows that cloth masks are garbage over long duration exposure.
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
Happymask is still by far the most comfortable mask to wear for long periods. They're also washable and very functional. There are more 'severe' masks, but, unless you use exceptional mask discipline and are willing to tolerate high levels of discomfort, they don't work better.
I'd like to see some research that a cloth mask, even with a filter, is remotely comparable to a N95. Every single study I've seen shows that cloth masks are garbage over long duration exposure.
That was for generic cloth masks. You can make better, and some companies do. Happymasks is one, Vogmask is another. NIOSH IIRC won't N95 certify anything that uses earloops for seal reasons, but if the fabric is good and you personally manage a good seal that won't matter. And if you don't get a good seal with an N95 its efficent is also reduced. Industrial/medical use of these fit tests for a reason.
95% Particle Penetration Filtering Efficiency, Filter class provides >99.9% Viral and Bacterial Filtering Efficiency, Suitable materials, 5 Sizes for a good fit across a range of head diemnsions and shares, and Reusability
VOGMASK CONFORMS TO THESE STANDARDS IN TESTING:
The filter efficiency as stated in 42 CFR Part 84.181 is a minimum efficiency for each filter of ≥ 95% ( ≤ 1% penetration) . The test articles submitted by the sponsor conform to the criteria for filter efficiency.
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
Happymask is still by far the most comfortable mask to wear for long periods. They're also washable and very functional. There are more 'severe' masks, but, unless you use exceptional mask discipline and are willing to tolerate high levels of discomfort, they don't work better.
I'd like to see some research that a cloth mask, even with a filter, is remotely comparable to a N95. Every single study I've seen shows that cloth masks are garbage over long duration exposure.
The key phrase in tbloxham's post is "mask discipline". The best mask in the world won't help if you can't stop touching it, moving it around, taking it off, etc. In specific circumstances cloth+filter isn't the best, yes, but when you take the human factor into account there isn't much difference between the masks overall, and comfort becomes a much bigger factor.
Question: I have to start traveling for work again, does anyone have a favorite mask for airline travel?
Happymask is still by far the most comfortable mask to wear for long periods. They're also washable and very functional. There are more 'severe' masks, but, unless you use exceptional mask discipline and are willing to tolerate high levels of discomfort, they don't work better.
I'd like to see some research that a cloth mask, even with a filter, is remotely comparable to a N95. Every single study I've seen shows that cloth masks are garbage over long duration exposure.
The key phrase in tbloxham's post is "mask discipline". The best mask in the world won't help if you can't stop touching it, moving it around, taking it off, etc. In specific circumstances cloth+filter isn't the best, yes, but when you take the human factor into account there isn't much difference between the masks overall, and comfort becomes a much bigger factor.
Happy masks also have an inbuilt filtration layer, which is demonstrated to work very well across multiple washes. They aren't just a layer of cloth. The cloth layers are overwhelmingly for moisture management and comfort. The filter layer is doing the job of protecting you from small particles. This is how most of the good re-usable masks work. The difference between it, and say something rated higher is that...
1) Testing standards are not set up to allow re-use of 'face touching' masks. You were (pre pandemic) supposed to ALWAYS consider them 1 and done. Do not re-use ever.
2) Testing is very expensive, and can only be done TO the standards if you want to comply with the standards
So, they function as well as an N95, across many washes, and an N95 functions as well as anything you can possibly wear unless you...
Never remove it to eat, drink or fidget
Shave right before you put it on
Never re-use it
Wear it at a tightness which MUST be uncomfortable. If it's a face mask, and its not miserable to wear, then it's not tight enough or filtering strongly enough to qualify as >N95.
That last bit is wrong. I have used fit-tested N95s professionally and they do not require being miserable to wear.
I didn't say an N95 had to be uncomfortable. I said that if you wanted to have better protection than that it pretty much had to be. Like, if you want to claim N99 or N100.
That last bit is wrong. I have used fit-tested N95s professionally and they do not require being miserable to wear.
I didn't say an N95 had to be uncomfortable. I said that if you wanted to have better protection than that it pretty much had to be. Like, if you want to claim N99 or N100.
It's one post above you know
an N95 functions as well as anything you can possibly wear unless you...
Never remove it to eat, drink or fidget
Shave right before you put it on
Never re-use it
Wear it at a tightness which MUST be uncomfortable. If it's a face mask, and its not miserable to wear, then it's not tight enough or filtering strongly enough to qualify as >N95.
Also elastometric N or P 100 respirators aren't terribly uncomfortable either. 95s are about as well-fitting as you need; 95s and 100s are more about the filter material.
That last bit is wrong. I have used fit-tested N95s professionally and they do not require being miserable to wear.
I didn't say an N95 had to be uncomfortable. I said that if you wanted to have better protection than that it pretty much had to be. Like, if you want to claim N99 or N100.
It's one post above you know
an N95 functions as well as anything you can possibly wear unless you...
Never remove it to eat, drink or fidget
Shave right before you put it on
Never re-use it
Wear it at a tightness which MUST be uncomfortable. If it's a face mask, and its not miserable to wear, then it's not tight enough or filtering strongly enough to qualify as >N95.
Also elastometric N or P 100 respirators aren't terribly uncomfortable either. 95s are about as well-fitting as you need; 95s and 100s are more about the filter material.
In the post you quoted, "MUST be uncomfortable" refers to "anything you can possibly wear," not to "an N95." As in, "you cannot improve on an N95 unless you do these things/accept these limitations."
I've actually got a half mask respirator (Honeywell North 770030) with p100 filters on it, fit tested. It's more comfortable than a cloth mask- I can pretty much wear it indefinitely, and it doesn't get super horrible and moist. The main problem at that point is other people's comfort, which is kinda uncontrollable and everyone thinks you're a weirdo for wearing a mask anyway. Anything outside of a cloth mask or surgical/n95 gets weird looks, so I'm kinda like, why not get a p100 that looks like I'm about to go paintballing?
Edit: I will say, I'm extremely COVID cautious due to my circumstances so I sometimes use masks that have valves which render them pretty much purely protective for me alone, since they don't filter exhalation. That improves comfort significantly. If I haven't gone anywhere or had visitors for a few weeks (and no one I live with does either of those) I figure it's a little bit of comfort I can take fairly ethically if I'm going places where I need that level of protection and to be able to stick with it for a long time. Wouldn't recommend it as a regular practice, but it's certainly better than not wearing a mask at all. If comfort is what's preventing you from wearing the higher quality masks, maybe look into getting one with a valve.
That last bit is wrong. I have used fit-tested N95s professionally and they do not require being miserable to wear.
I didn't say an N95 had to be uncomfortable. I said that if you wanted to have better protection than that it pretty much had to be. Like, if you want to claim N99 or N100.
It's one post above you know
an N95 functions as well as anything you can possibly wear unless you...
Never remove it to eat, drink or fidget
Shave right before you put it on
Never re-use it
Wear it at a tightness which MUST be uncomfortable. If it's a face mask, and its not miserable to wear, then it's not tight enough or filtering strongly enough to qualify as >N95.
Also elastometric N or P 100 respirators aren't terribly uncomfortable either. 95s are about as well-fitting as you need; 95s and 100s are more about the filter material.
In the post you quoted, "MUST be uncomfortable" refers to "anything you can possibly wear," not to "an N95." As in, "you cannot improve on an N95 unless you do these things/accept these limitations."
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
Well, apparently I've begun my second bout with covid! Probably picked it up at a show I went to in Baltimore last Thursday. Yesterday morning I developed the symptom of a tickle in my throat. By the time I got home, it was on the borderline of what I'd call "sore" and I took an at-home test which had technically expired in December. It was very hard to see, but there was a very faint line indicating a positive result. I took a newer test that wasn't set to expire until May and got the two solid lines. Anyway, hoping it doesn't get much worse. I went to urgent care with the idea of getting a proper test done there, but both the nurse and the doctor said that if my at-home test said it was positive, then I'm positive and they weren't going to do a test there.
The doctor offered to put me on paxlovid, but said it's best for people in at-risk categories. I opted not to go for it since I got through covid OK last time and she agreed. I was supposed to visit family this weekend, but that's up in the air. In theory I could leave a day later and wear a mask for the whole trip, but I have a feeling we'll be postponing to another date.
Much like this thread, just because we aren't talking about COVID as much doesn't mean it isn't still around:
(Graph of counted COVID cases compared to wastewater tracking)
"Let's take a look at the scores! The girls are at the square root of Pi, while the boys are still at a crudely drawn picture of a duck. Clearly, it's anybody's game!"
Much like this thread, just because we aren't talking about COVID as much doesn't mean it isn't still around:
(Graph of counted COVID cases compared to wastewater tracking)
I don’t think you can discuss that graph though without acknowledging that this is what excess deaths look like for a similar time period (link):
Are you saying we should be relieved by the drop off in excess mortality? Because if so, I'd like to gently reiterate that excess mortality drops off, even when a pandemic is still going, because you've already burnt through a significant portion of the vulnerable population. The mortality displacement here is often referred to as "harvesting." The fact that it's going back up and hasn't gone into a long-tailed deficit is actually the concerning part, for me- normally with something causing a big spike in deaths, you'd see excess mortality go into the negative for a bit. Instead, it looks like we're seeing COVID either continue to find pockets of vulnerable people, or generate them upon reinfection.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
And hopefully it means that the vaccines are proving effective at reducing the risk of death, even if death is not the only risk associated with contracting covid, especially multiple times?
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
And hopefully it means that the vaccines are proving effective at reducing the risk of death, even if death is not the only risk associated with contracting covid, especially multiple times?
Interestingly, vaccines are proving less effective and waning more rapidly- relative to the population, which is all hopped up on COVID antibodies due to the constant COVID transmission. It's a hard thing to wrap your head around because a lot of these numbers are moving target relative to a changing population.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
I don't have a new answer on what to do about it, but there is some other news that might be worth mentioning. I assumed everyone kinda gets their news elsewhere at this point, but just a few things to note:
Turns out CO2 itself is a contributor to COVID transmission - not just because that's what we exhale and you see more CO2 with higher COVID as a result, but because the physical properties of CO2 actually provide a buffer for the virus particles when aerosolized, allowing them to survive for longer. Basically, ventilation may actually be more important than filtration, in terms of long term, indoor events. Majority of the particles de-activate within 20 minutes (most of the deactivation happening in the first 5 minutes, even) without the aid of 800+ ppm CO2, so you could actually feel safe from aerosols entering a room 20 minutes after someone else who had COVID left it, as long as the room you're entering has a low enough CO2 concentration. Which is actually very easily measurable! And important for policy on ventilation going forward.
Newest vaccinate update coming soon- the FDA is recommending it target the JN.1 COVID lineage, but the specific variant is up in the air. I'm hoping they choose one of the currently spreading versions rather than an earlier variant, but Novavax can't move as fast as MRNA and the FDA may want everyone to be targeting the same variant for simple communication to patients and a more consistent immune profile for the vaccinated population.
Violet Blue, who runs the Pandemic Roundup (https://www.patreon.com/violetblue?filters[tag]=Pandemic Roundups), has a COVID Safety Handbook with a lot of good resources coming out soon, which has been funded on Kickstarter. I can't vouch for all of her stuff because some of it feels a bit sensationalized, but there are some genuinely useful resources in there and it might be interesting to others in this thread.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
I mean, with a deadly bird flu (something like 52% mortality historically, although there have only been 800-ish documented cases) showing up as fragments in milk, with some people actually getting infected, maybe we will have a flu thread in here someday soon. The response from raw milk enthusiasts, naturally, is to drink MORE raw milk because they think it will give them immunity. Weekly sales of raw milk have ticked up 21% since March.
Oh my god I really, really, REALLY hope that we do actually move forward with the ventilation upgrades. As someone who who is severely allergic to just about everything indoors it would be nice to not need a ton of allergy pills/shots/etc.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
I mean, with a deadly bird flu (something like 52% mortality historically, although there have only been 800-ish documented cases) showing up as fragments in milk, with some people actually getting infected, maybe we will have a flu thread in here someday soon. The response from raw milk enthusiasts, naturally, is to drink MORE raw milk because they think it will give them immunity. Weekly sales of raw milk have ticked up 21% since March.
I have been trying not to catatrophize about H5N1 but we are kinda flying blind right now on it. The twin forces of the backlash from regressives on COVID monitoring and the dairy industry shutting down anyone independently trying to test milk means we are just not doing enough surveillance, and human cases that are not clearly connected keep popping up. Including one last week with respiratory symptoms, which is pretty concerning.
However, it's good to keep in mind that it still seems to not be capable of transmitting via respiratory pathways- most people get it in their eyes, since we actually have the right receptors there for the virus to infect, but our upper respiratory system is not really viable.
Still, the more it transmits, the more it mutates, the more human infections, the more we risk that changing. Unfortunately, the dairy industry doesn't really seem to be cooperating with testing outside of some rare cases and only about 40-100 farm workers in the US have consented to being tested themselves.
The nice thing about H5N1 is that NIAID et al have been worried about it for a very long time so it won't be quite the curveball COVID was, but there's lots of bad side from what control and vaccination resistance is likely to occur with another pandemic any time soon... but if things hold off there are promising candidates for mRNA universal vaccines for flu that would really be a boon
We’ve had 4 years of an (almost) unbroken streak of excess deaths. That is in no way relieving. Like, it’s nice that we aren’t having as many excess deaths as we used to, but we are still having excess deaths! After 4 years! That is not good.
And covid can still fuck you up even if it doesn’t kill you.
What's probably more crushing than anything these days regarding covid is how little anyone cares about it. The only time I see a mask is when I go to Mayo Clinic, and even then it's maybe 15-20% of the people you see (obviously way more masks once you get close to the OR, but I'm talking about in general in the hallways and lounge areas)
The last time I had covid I stayed home and isolated and kept anyone else from getting it from me, and I was vilified for it from every corner, including people at home.
And hopefully it means that the vaccines are proving effective at reducing the risk of death, even if death is not the only risk associated with contracting covid, especially multiple times?
Interestingly, vaccines are proving less effective and waning more rapidly- relative to the population, which is all hopped up on COVID antibodies due to the constant COVID transmission. It's a hard thing to wrap your head around because a lot of these numbers are moving target relative to a changing population.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
I don't have a new answer on what to do about it, but there is some other news that might be worth mentioning. I assumed everyone kinda gets their news elsewhere at this point, but just a few things to note:
Turns out CO2 itself is a contributor to COVID transmission - not just because that's what we exhale and you see more CO2 with higher COVID as a result, but because the physical properties of CO2 actually provide a buffer for the virus particles when aerosolized, allowing them to survive for longer. Basically, ventilation may actually be more important than filtration, in terms of long term, indoor events. Majority of the particles de-activate within 20 minutes (most of the deactivation happening in the first 5 minutes, even) without the aid of 800+ ppm CO2, so you could actually feel safe from aerosols entering a room 20 minutes after someone else who had COVID left it, as long as the room you're entering has a low enough CO2 concentration. Which is actually very easily measurable! And important for policy on ventilation going forward.
Newest vaccinate update coming soon- the FDA is recommending it target the JN.1 COVID lineage, but the specific variant is up in the air. I'm hoping they choose one of the currently spreading versions rather than an earlier variant, but Novavax can't move as fast as MRNA and the FDA may want everyone to be targeting the same variant for simple communication to patients and a more consistent immune profile for the vaccinated population.
Violet Blue, who runs the Pandemic Roundup (https://www.patreon.com/violetblue?filters[tag]=Pandemic Roundups), has a COVID Safety Handbook with a lot of good resources coming out soon, which has been funded on Kickstarter. I can't vouch for all of her stuff because some of it feels a bit sensationalized, but there are some genuinely useful resources in there and it might be interesting to others in this thread.
Is it eventually possible to combine the COVID and Flu shot?
And hopefully it means that the vaccines are proving effective at reducing the risk of death, even if death is not the only risk associated with contracting covid, especially multiple times?
Interestingly, vaccines are proving less effective and waning more rapidly- relative to the population, which is all hopped up on COVID antibodies due to the constant COVID transmission. It's a hard thing to wrap your head around because a lot of these numbers are moving target relative to a changing population.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
I don't have a new answer on what to do about it, but there is some other news that might be worth mentioning. I assumed everyone kinda gets their news elsewhere at this point, but just a few things to note:
Turns out CO2 itself is a contributor to COVID transmission - not just because that's what we exhale and you see more CO2 with higher COVID as a result, but because the physical properties of CO2 actually provide a buffer for the virus particles when aerosolized, allowing them to survive for longer. Basically, ventilation may actually be more important than filtration, in terms of long term, indoor events. Majority of the particles de-activate within 20 minutes (most of the deactivation happening in the first 5 minutes, even) without the aid of 800+ ppm CO2, so you could actually feel safe from aerosols entering a room 20 minutes after someone else who had COVID left it, as long as the room you're entering has a low enough CO2 concentration. Which is actually very easily measurable! And important for policy on ventilation going forward.
Newest vaccinate update coming soon- the FDA is recommending it target the JN.1 COVID lineage, but the specific variant is up in the air. I'm hoping they choose one of the currently spreading versions rather than an earlier variant, but Novavax can't move as fast as MRNA and the FDA may want everyone to be targeting the same variant for simple communication to patients and a more consistent immune profile for the vaccinated population.
Violet Blue, who runs the Pandemic Roundup (https://www.patreon.com/violetblue?filters[tag]=Pandemic Roundups), has a COVID Safety Handbook with a lot of good resources coming out soon, which has been funded on Kickstarter. I can't vouch for all of her stuff because some of it feels a bit sensationalized, but there are some genuinely useful resources in there and it might be interesting to others in this thread.
Is it eventually possible to combine the COVID and Flu shot?
And hopefully it means that the vaccines are proving effective at reducing the risk of death, even if death is not the only risk associated with contracting covid, especially multiple times?
Interestingly, vaccines are proving less effective and waning more rapidly- relative to the population, which is all hopped up on COVID antibodies due to the constant COVID transmission. It's a hard thing to wrap your head around because a lot of these numbers are moving target relative to a changing population.
I guess the question is: what do you think we should do about it? There's nothing to talk about with it because that's it. We don't have a flu thread because it's part of our lives now. I don't think anyone is under the impression that it's going to disappear suddenly and there's nothing novel about discussing it anymore.
I don't have a new answer on what to do about it, but there is some other news that might be worth mentioning. I assumed everyone kinda gets their news elsewhere at this point, but just a few things to note:
Turns out CO2 itself is a contributor to COVID transmission - not just because that's what we exhale and you see more CO2 with higher COVID as a result, but because the physical properties of CO2 actually provide a buffer for the virus particles when aerosolized, allowing them to survive for longer. Basically, ventilation may actually be more important than filtration, in terms of long term, indoor events. Majority of the particles de-activate within 20 minutes (most of the deactivation happening in the first 5 minutes, even) without the aid of 800+ ppm CO2, so you could actually feel safe from aerosols entering a room 20 minutes after someone else who had COVID left it, as long as the room you're entering has a low enough CO2 concentration. Which is actually very easily measurable! And important for policy on ventilation going forward.
Newest vaccinate update coming soon- the FDA is recommending it target the JN.1 COVID lineage, but the specific variant is up in the air. I'm hoping they choose one of the currently spreading versions rather than an earlier variant, but Novavax can't move as fast as MRNA and the FDA may want everyone to be targeting the same variant for simple communication to patients and a more consistent immune profile for the vaccinated population.
Violet Blue, who runs the Pandemic Roundup (https://www.patreon.com/violetblue?filters[tag]=Pandemic Roundups), has a COVID Safety Handbook with a lot of good resources coming out soon, which has been funded on Kickstarter. I can't vouch for all of her stuff because some of it feels a bit sensationalized, but there are some genuinely useful resources in there and it might be interesting to others in this thread.
Is it eventually possible to combine the COVID and Flu shot?
You can generally mix vaccines, what you can't mix is a vaccine and a monoclonal antibody where the latter can prevent the former from giving you a protective titer.
Posts
Should we bother with another thread? 😞
Posting has slowed on this thread but, much like COVID itself, it hasn't gone away, and probably won't any time soon, so sadly probably need a new thread IMHO, at least until such time that the fascists finish their takeover and all threads converge in the final apocalypse...
One of the biggest enduring misconceptions about COVID currently is that it remains a respiratory disease. The damage it can to beyond the lungs is long-lasting and exceeds the acute phase of infection, and in addition to brain damage can cause a bevy of cardiovascular issues.
It hasn't been "like the flu" this whole time.
Happymask is still by far the most comfortable mask to wear for long periods. They're also washable and very functional. There are more 'severe' masks, but, unless you use exceptional mask discipline and are willing to tolerate high levels of discomfort, they don't work better.
https://www.happymasks.com/
I bought some generic N95s that are very comfortable. I used them a couple times on flights and haven't had any issues. Most of my flights are 2 hours long with a fairly short layover though so I basically only wear
HUHETA KN95 Face Mask, 30 Pack... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M5F6N51
I didn't get sick at all when I wore them and that's the first time in ever that I flew on a plane without getting a fever lol.
3M Aura is good for long flights because it wraps around the back of your head and can be worn for hours at a time. I carry flat fold KN95 masks that wrap around my ears for short flights (easier to take on and off) or crowded areas.
I'd like to see some research that a cloth mask, even with a filter, is remotely comparable to a N95. Every single study I've seen shows that cloth masks are garbage over long duration exposure.
That was for generic cloth masks. You can make better, and some companies do. Happymasks is one, Vogmask is another. NIOSH IIRC won't N95 certify anything that uses earloops for seal reasons, but if the fabric is good and you personally manage a good seal that won't matter. And if you don't get a good seal with an N95 its efficent is also reduced. Industrial/medical use of these fit tests for a reason.
The key phrase in tbloxham's post is "mask discipline". The best mask in the world won't help if you can't stop touching it, moving it around, taking it off, etc. In specific circumstances cloth+filter isn't the best, yes, but when you take the human factor into account there isn't much difference between the masks overall, and comfort becomes a much bigger factor.
Happy masks also have an inbuilt filtration layer, which is demonstrated to work very well across multiple washes. They aren't just a layer of cloth. The cloth layers are overwhelmingly for moisture management and comfort. The filter layer is doing the job of protecting you from small particles. This is how most of the good re-usable masks work. The difference between it, and say something rated higher is that...
1) Testing standards are not set up to allow re-use of 'face touching' masks. You were (pre pandemic) supposed to ALWAYS consider them 1 and done. Do not re-use ever.
2) Testing is very expensive, and can only be done TO the standards if you want to comply with the standards
So, they function as well as an N95, across many washes, and an N95 functions as well as anything you can possibly wear unless you...
Never remove it to eat, drink or fidget
Shave right before you put it on
Never re-use it
Wear it at a tightness which MUST be uncomfortable. If it's a face mask, and its not miserable to wear, then it's not tight enough or filtering strongly enough to qualify as >N95.
I didn't say an N95 had to be uncomfortable. I said that if you wanted to have better protection than that it pretty much had to be. Like, if you want to claim N99 or N100.
It's one post above you know
Also elastometric N or P 100 respirators aren't terribly uncomfortable either. 95s are about as well-fitting as you need; 95s and 100s are more about the filter material.
In the post you quoted, "MUST be uncomfortable" refers to "anything you can possibly wear," not to "an N95." As in, "you cannot improve on an N95 unless you do these things/accept these limitations."
Edit: I will say, I'm extremely COVID cautious due to my circumstances so I sometimes use masks that have valves which render them pretty much purely protective for me alone, since they don't filter exhalation. That improves comfort significantly. If I haven't gone anywhere or had visitors for a few weeks (and no one I live with does either of those) I figure it's a little bit of comfort I can take fairly ethically if I'm going places where I need that level of protection and to be able to stick with it for a long time. Wouldn't recommend it as a regular practice, but it's certainly better than not wearing a mask at all. If comfort is what's preventing you from wearing the higher quality masks, maybe look into getting one with a valve.
That is, at best, grammatically ambiguous I think
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The doctor offered to put me on paxlovid, but said it's best for people in at-risk categories. I opted not to go for it since I got through covid OK last time and she agreed. I was supposed to visit family this weekend, but that's up in the air. In theory I could leave a day later and wear a mask for the whole trip, but I have a feeling we'll be postponing to another date.
My Backloggery
(Graph of counted COVID cases compared to wastewater tracking)
"Oh, it's just Covid. Again."
Everyone knows it's going around, people will tell you that they've had it 3+ times. Complacency has well and truly set in.
I don’t think you can discuss that graph though without acknowledging that this is what excess deaths look like for a similar time period (link):
Are you saying we should be relieved by the drop off in excess mortality? Because if so, I'd like to gently reiterate that excess mortality drops off, even when a pandemic is still going, because you've already burnt through a significant portion of the vulnerable population. The mortality displacement here is often referred to as "harvesting." The fact that it's going back up and hasn't gone into a long-tailed deficit is actually the concerning part, for me- normally with something causing a big spike in deaths, you'd see excess mortality go into the negative for a bit. Instead, it looks like we're seeing COVID either continue to find pockets of vulnerable people, or generate them upon reinfection.
And hopefully it means that the vaccines are proving effective at reducing the risk of death, even if death is not the only risk associated with contracting covid, especially multiple times?
Like the peaks and troughs in the wastewater data are similar timing but the magnitude is wayyyy off, compared to the Christmas of Omicron peak
Interestingly, vaccines are proving less effective and waning more rapidly- relative to the population, which is all hopped up on COVID antibodies due to the constant COVID transmission. It's a hard thing to wrap your head around because a lot of these numbers are moving target relative to a changing population.
I don't have a new answer on what to do about it, but there is some other news that might be worth mentioning. I assumed everyone kinda gets their news elsewhere at this point, but just a few things to note:
https://www.statnews.com/2024/06/04/co2-ventilation-research-virus-airborne-life-haddrell-celebs/
Turns out CO2 itself is a contributor to COVID transmission - not just because that's what we exhale and you see more CO2 with higher COVID as a result, but because the physical properties of CO2 actually provide a buffer for the virus particles when aerosolized, allowing them to survive for longer. Basically, ventilation may actually be more important than filtration, in terms of long term, indoor events. Majority of the particles de-activate within 20 minutes (most of the deactivation happening in the first 5 minutes, even) without the aid of 800+ ppm CO2, so you could actually feel safe from aerosols entering a room 20 minutes after someone else who had COVID left it, as long as the room you're entering has a low enough CO2 concentration. Which is actually very easily measurable! And important for policy on ventilation going forward.
Other note:
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/expect-an-updated-covid-19-vaccine
Newest vaccinate update coming soon- the FDA is recommending it target the JN.1 COVID lineage, but the specific variant is up in the air. I'm hoping they choose one of the currently spreading versions rather than an earlier variant, but Novavax can't move as fast as MRNA and the FDA may want everyone to be targeting the same variant for simple communication to patients and a more consistent immune profile for the vaccinated population.
And finally:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/violetblue/the-covid-sanity-handbook
Violet Blue, who runs the Pandemic Roundup (https://www.patreon.com/violetblue?filters[tag]=Pandemic Roundups), has a COVID Safety Handbook with a lot of good resources coming out soon, which has been funded on Kickstarter. I can't vouch for all of her stuff because some of it feels a bit sensationalized, but there are some genuinely useful resources in there and it might be interesting to others in this thread.
I have been trying not to catatrophize about H5N1 but we are kinda flying blind right now on it. The twin forces of the backlash from regressives on COVID monitoring and the dairy industry shutting down anyone independently trying to test milk means we are just not doing enough surveillance, and human cases that are not clearly connected keep popping up. Including one last week with respiratory symptoms, which is pretty concerning.
However, it's good to keep in mind that it still seems to not be capable of transmitting via respiratory pathways- most people get it in their eyes, since we actually have the right receptors there for the virus to infect, but our upper respiratory system is not really viable.
Still, the more it transmits, the more it mutates, the more human infections, the more we risk that changing. Unfortunately, the dairy industry doesn't really seem to be cooperating with testing outside of some rare cases and only about 40-100 farm workers in the US have consented to being tested themselves.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/clinical-trial-mrna-universal-influenza-vaccine-candidate-begins
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05755620
And covid can still fuck you up even if it doesn’t kill you.
The last time I had covid I stayed home and isolated and kept anyone else from getting it from me, and I was vilified for it from every corner, including people at home.
Is it eventually possible to combine the COVID and Flu shot?
Moderna has one in late stage trials now
I just got one of each (different arms, for safety assurance), so that's fun.