Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[STACEYH]

Definitely feeling the shortness of breath now. Have to either sleep sitting up or on my stomach or else I feel like i’m under a weighted blanket.

Lost 5lb in 2 days, so I guess that’s a bonus? Not much of an appetite so I’m forcing myself to eat 3 meals a day

I'm so sorry you re ill. I hope you get over it fast and without many issues. Drink plenty of fluids.

 

[Brooks_]

Actually...it does mean something. People getting tested at home.
...so the results are private...
...no more testing at testing sites...
...where they count the numbers...
Ergo: no more covid.

Exactly. Don't want covid.... don't get tested. Boom, it's just a cold or the flu.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Exactly. Don't want covid.... don't get tested. Boom, it's just a cold or the flu.

They need to put it to bed now so in 3 years it will be nothing but a painful memory. Its been pushed longer than expected and what was wanted to be achieved was achieved...more or less.

 

[saysfaa]

Listening to the news. They are showing "how to tell if your mask is counterfeit." Arrow to where there should be this number and that number, and so on.

Which means the counterfeiters will put some numbers here and some there and so on. Then none of us will be able to tell which are counterfeit.

Separately but related: how much difference is there between a standard kn95 mask and a well researched, well made, fitted to an individual cloth mask? I have some kn95 from a couple of different shipments. One kind fits perfectly. The others don't.

Now that they are starting to talk about cloth masks not being good enough, I think it will be a matter of time until 95s and kn95s will be specified in the mandates with no allowance for more effective and more comfortable cloth masks.

How do they STILL not know these things???
"...Further research is needed to expand the evidence base for the protective effect of face coverings and, in particular, to identify the combinations of materials that maximize both their blocking and filtering effectiveness,..." quote from ASTM standards referenced by the updated CDC guidelines as of the January 14, 2022 update.

Along with, "
"There are currently no established methods for measuring outward leakage from a barrier face covering, medical mask, or respirator. Nothing in this standard addresses or implies a quantitative assessment of outward leakage and no claims can be made about the degree to which a barrier face covering reduces emission of human-generated particles."

And

"This testing is not likely to be representative of outward leakage from the barrier face covering and should not be claimed to represent the amount of source control offered by the face covering."

Leakage is around the edges of the masks or through seams. I am not sure if it includes other things that reduce the effectiveness - of which they named several including touching the mask, age of the mask, after laundering it many times.

That doesn't mean masks don't make some difference; they may even make a LOT of difference in at least some situations.

If masks are as important as they are portrayed.... how do we STILL not know

 

[aart]

If masks are as important as they are portrayed.... how do we STILL not know

Lack of quantitative data....same goes for everything COVID.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Listening to the news. They are showing "how to tell if your mask is counterfeit." Arrow to where there should be this number and that number, and so on.

Which means the counterfeiters will put some numbers here and some there and so on. Then none of us will be able to tell which are counterfeit.

Separately but related: how much difference is there between a standard kn95 mask and a well researched, well made, fitted to an individual cloth mask? I have some kn95 from a couple of different shipments. One kind fits perfectly. The others don't.

Now that they are starting to talk about cloth masks not being good enough, I think it will be a matter of time until 95s and kn95s will be specified in the mandates with no allowance for more effective and more comfortable cloth masks.

How do they STILL not know these things???
"...Further research is needed to expand the evidence base for the protective effect of face coverings and, in particular, to identify the combinations of materials that maximize both their blocking and filtering effectiveness,..." quote from ASTM standards referenced by the updated CDC guidelines as of the January 14, 2022 update.

Along with, "
"There are currently no established methods for measuring outward leakage from a barrier face covering, medical mask, or respirator. Nothing in this standard addresses or implies a quantitative assessment of outward leakage and no claims can be made about the degree to which a barrier face covering reduces emission of human-generated particles."

And

"This testing is not likely to be representative of outward leakage from the barrier face covering and should not be claimed to represent the amount of source control offered by the face covering."

Leakage is around the edges of the masks or through seams. I am not sure if it includes other things that reduce the effectiveness - of which they named several including touching the mask, age of the mask, after laundering it many times.

That doesn't mean masks don't make some difference; they may even make a LOT of difference in at least some situations.

If masks are as important as they are portrayed.... how do we STILL not know

Cloth masks do protect but not from airborne partculates. The N95s do. Doctors wear masks in operating rooms to protect against bloodborn pathogens. We have the information. That information is being spun. The news needs something to talk about and debating topics helps that.

 

[saysfaa]

Lack of quantitative data....same goes for everything COVID.

With as many hundreds of millions of cases, years of time, billions (trillions?) of dollars spent on covid and even the ASTM lacks quantitative data for such basic things as filtering effectiveness of various materials.

No common sense, is the most charitable thing that can be said about that.

 

[saysfaa]

Cloth masks do protect but not from airborne partculates. The N95s do. Doctors wear masks in operating rooms to protect against bloodborn pathogens. We have the information. That information is being spun. The news needs something to talk about and debating topics helps that.

What do they protect from if it is not airborne particulates? Would that be droplets and aerosols?

Why does the ASTM say they don't have the information?

The news, tonight at least and at least the part I heard, was only about the identity of counterfeits. The rest is what I've been looking at lately.

I agree cloth masks can protect and that 95s can protect better. I would like to know how much.

In the first month or so, my sister, daughter, and I figured they made an unknown amount of difference but viral load matters, so even if it is a few percent difference, it could be enough to make a difference. And it encourages at least the polite people to give more space. It was the best we could do until more was known. It is sad that we know nothing more now.

 

[aart]

No common sense, is the most charitable thing that can be said about that.

Agrees.

 

[lovesfarms]

Listening to the news. They are showing "how to tell if your mask is counterfeit." Arrow to where there should be this number and that number, and so on.

Which means the counterfeiters will put some numbers here and some there and so on. Then none of us will be able to tell which are counterfeit.

Separately but related: how much difference is there between a standard kn95 mask and a well researched, well made, fitted to an individual cloth mask? I have some kn95 from a couple of different shipments. One kind fits perfectly. The others don't.

Now that they are starting to talk about cloth masks not being good enough, I think it will be a matter of time until 95s and kn95s will be specified in the mandates with no allowance for more effective and more comfortable cloth masks.

How do they STILL not know these things???
"...Further research is needed to expand the evidence base for the protective effect of face coverings and, in particular, to identify the combinations of materials that maximize both their blocking and filtering effectiveness,..." quote from ASTM standards referenced by the updated CDC guidelines as of the January 14, 2022 update.

Along with, "
"There are currently no established methods for measuring outward leakage from a barrier face covering, medical mask, or respirator. Nothing in this standard addresses or implies a quantitative assessment of outward leakage and no claims can be made about the degree to which a barrier face covering reduces emission of human-generated particles."

And

"This testing is not likely to be representative of outward leakage from the barrier face covering and should not be claimed to represent the amount of source control offered by the face covering."

Leakage is around the edges of the masks or through seams. I am not sure if it includes other things that reduce the effectiveness - of which they named several including touching the mask, age of the mask, after laundering it many times.

That doesn't mean masks don't make some difference; they may even make a LOT of difference in at least some situations.

If masks are as important as they are portrayed.... how do we STILL not know

The N95s have rubber bands around the back of the head making them fit tighter to the face. You can actually feel it sucking in when you breathe so you kno your breath is going through the fabric. My glasses don't fog shut because my breath isn't leaking. They are made in the USA for quality control. Since I wear them, the cloth ones seem really flimsy