Help
Cloth masks are better than nothing, but they were supposed to be a stopgap measure.
[...] Both of us wrote articles as far back as March urging people to wear homemade cloth masks. We're also the authors (along with 17 other experts) of a paper titled "An Evidence Review of Face Masks Against COVID," which was just published in peer-reviewed form in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But it's past time for better solutions to be available to the public.
[...] We'd hoped that by 2021 supply chains would have ramped up enough to ensure that everyone had better masks.
[...] Unlike cloth masks, medical-grade masks (also called respirators) that adhere to standards such as N95 (in the U.S.), FFP2 (in the European Union), and KN95 (in China) do a much better job of protecting the wearer and dampening transmission. Ideally, they should also come with instructions on how to wear them and ensure that they fit properly.
[...] Tragically, America is swamped with fraudulent medical-grade masks, some of which are only 1 percent effective. [...]
[...] Worse, the supply situation apparently remains so dire that the CDC still "does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators," because they're crucial supplies that must continue to be reserved for health-care workers and other first responders.
Not all countries have this problem. Taiwan massively scaled up its manufacturing of masks at the start of 2020, such that by April every citizen received a fresh supply of high-quality masks each week, and the distribution system was regulated by the government. Taiwan's COVID-19 death rate per capita is more than 1,000 times lower than that in the U.S. Hong Kong has been distributing patented six-layer masks (the efficacy of which has been laboratory tested) to every citizen. Singapore is on at least its fourth round of distributing free, reusable, multilayer masks with filters to everyone—even kids, who get kid-size ones. In Germany, Bavaria has just announced that it will be requiring higher-grade masks. If all of these places can do this, why can't we?
Fixing this problem is more urgent now that a new variant of the coronavirus, known as the B.1.1.7 lineage, is making its way around the world. This variant is believed to be about 50 to 70 percent more transmissible than earlier strains of the virus. Masks are an important part of the battle against this new variant because they decrease transmission by reducing the number of infectious particles spread by a mask wearer (known as "source control") and by reducing the amount that a mask wearer inhales. The cloth masks that we focus on in our paper do a good job at source control, but on their own they do not protect the wearer as well as medical-grade respirators do. [...] Right now, while the CDC language on supply shortages has not been updated, it's unclear if that's because the shortages are really that dire or because this topic has not been paid sufficient attention. In either case, the CDC should update us on the situation. And if, indeed, we are still suffering from shortages, emergency measures should finally be implemented to manufacture such masks at home.
Ideally we would have ramped up supply and been able to produce and distribute certified higher-filtration masks to the whole population. At a minimum, we should have created a certification program and a distribution channel that allows people to purchase higher-grade masks with confidence. Even better, we could have distributed them to the public for free like so many other places. It's not just that many other countries showed us the way: Many experts have been urging a switch to better-grade masks as soon as possible.
We need the CDC and the FDA to step up and provide simple, clear, actionable, and specific information that would allow the public to know which masks are reliable and where they can get them, as well as how to upgrade and better wear their existing options. [...] A good supply of KN95 masks is available from China, with many supermarkets and pharmacies now selling them for a couple of dollars each. But none of these solutions can work widely as long as the public has little guidance on which masks are reliable and certified.
When, three months ago, one of us found FDA-certified KN95 masks at a local supermarket, she was shocked that they were just sitting in a large bin, next to similarly priced single-layer cloth masks. There was no run on them, because the public was not informed of their importance. When she spread word of the masks on social media, hoping some locals would be able to take advantage of this chance, she was inundated by people asking whether they were fake—a valid concern, given that the country is awash in fake masks. She ended up purchasing a bunch to distribute, an effort that would have been comical if it weren't so tragic.'
https://www.theatlan...r-masks/617656/
'Still going to the grocery store? With new virus variants spreading, it's probably time to stop.
Health experts say you should avoid optional trips whenever you can. You probably need a better mask, too.
[...] While these variants haven't been shown to be more deadly, a more transmissible virus is actually worse in many ways than a more lethal one. Cases snowball at a faster rate [...] With a 50 percent rise in infectiousness, for example, "in less than two weeks, you get twice the number of cases," Lipsitch said. "And in a month or so, you have four, five times as many cases. But that's very approximate." The case growth could be even more dramatic[...]
More cases mean more really sick people, more strain on hospitals and health workers, more rationing of health care — and more deaths, including the entirely preventable ones now firmly linked to ICU bed shortages. More cases will also give the virus more opportunities to mutate further and potentially escape our vaccines, perpetuating the cycle of doom.
[...] At an individual level, that means avoiding optional gatherings with other people — even grocery trips — whenever possible, or cutting them very short.
It's also time for governments to bring more urgency to what they should have been doing already: ensuring better masks for the population, and protecting at-risk groups by setting workplace standards, running inspections, and offering programs like paid sick leave and paid isolation.
It's time to avoid other people, even at the grocery store (if possible)
We know the virus can't spread if we keep our distance from other people. But with the new variants, it might be even easier to catch.
The B.1.1.7 [...] variant's spike protein — the thorny edges on the surface that fit into the receptor in our cells — may be even "stickier," meaning it's even more effective at entering human cells.'
https://www.vox.com/...iDiilbniNISL2as
Wonder if these mutations could increase the risk of fomite or ocular transmission....
'The literature was analyzed to understand ocular transmission as well as molecular mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 enters cells and replicates. Analysis of gene expression profiles from available datasets, published immunohistochemistry, as well as current literature was reviewed, to assess the likelihood that ocular inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 results in systemic infection. Recent findings: The ocular surface and retina have the necessary proteins[...] to be infected with SARS-CoV-2. In addition to direct ocular infection, virus carried by tears through the nasolacrimal duct to nasal epithelium represent a means of ocular inoculation. Summary: There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 may either directly infect cells on the ocular surface, or virus can be carried by tears through the nasolacrimal duct to infect the nasal or gastrointestinal epithelium.
[...] A review of the literature [41–52]and a recent meta-analysis reported in Lancet [53] demonstrates that lack of ocular protection increases the risk of contracting MERS, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 (Figure 5). This result is further supported by a recent JAMA article that demonstrated the use of a face shield reduced seroconversion in community health workers from 19% to 0% [54]. Face shield use, unlike direct eye protection such as goggles, complicates assessment of direct ocular transmission. In addition to ocular surface protection, face shields could also act to reduce respiratory or gastrointestinal exposure. Importantly, even the protective effect of goggles does not imply virus directly invades the ocular surface as virus can be carried via tear drainage into the nasal or gastrointestinal epithelium where infection can occur.
[...] our analysis of the literature as well as analysis of genes involved inviral infection in ocular tissues, suggest that both direct infection of the ocular surface or transmission of the virus through tears down the nasolacrimal duct to infect the nasal epithelium are both plausible.Recent data in the laboratory demonstrates that conjunctival explants can be infected, thus ocular transmission is quite likely.'
https://www.research...-CoV-2_A_Review
This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 15 January 2021 - 02:28 AM
