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Tag: Mask

  • Coronavirus: Booster shots reduce risk of hospitalization

    Coronavirus: Booster shots reduce risk of hospitalization

    The New York Times reports on the value of Covid-19 booster shots in preventing hospitalization, particularly for people 50 and older. Still, everyone, including people who have had booster shots are best-off wearing N95 masks whenever indoors and around other people.

    The Centers for Disease Control just released new data showing that people with booster shots are much less likely to be hospitalized than people who are not vaccinated. Booster shots are also a good weapon against Covid-19 infection to begin with. But, vaccinated or not, you should not be going without a surgical mask, ideally an N95 mask, when around other people indoors.

    People over 50 who have not been vaccinated are 17 times more likely to be hospitalized than people who received two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. The risk of hospitalization for those unvaccinated is 2.5 times greater still than those who had received a booster shot. Unvaccinated adults between the ages of 50 and 64 have a 44 times greater likelihood of being hospitalized than people who had received the booster shot as well.

    Risk of hospitalization for the unvaccinated over 65 is even higher than for those under 65. People over 65 have a 49 times higher likelihood of hospitalization than people their age who had received a booster.

    Interestingly, getting Covid affords people more protection against the Delta virus than vaccinations, according to the CDC. The CDC has not yet determined the efficacy of booster shots against Omicron and whether getting Omicron delivers more protection than a booster shot.

    But, the CDC has now reported that wearing cloth masks offers far less protection than wearing a surgical mask. And, the Washington Post explains why the best mask to wear to protect yourself against Covid-19 is an N95. In short, it fits snugly to your skin around the edges and is made of a material that blocks the novel coronavirus particles from slipping through it with 95 percent efficacy.

    Everyone can reduce the risk of getting Covid by using an N95 or KN95 mask instead of a cloth mask. N95 masks are now widely available. If you are buying masks, choose those. The Biden administration is now giving out free masks through community health centers (sometimes called FQHCs) and through participating pharmacies, such as CVS and Walmart.  You can visit this CDC webpage to see how to ensure the mask you buy is not counterfeit.

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  • Until you’re vaccinated, consider wearing two masks to reduce your risk of infection

    Until you’re vaccinated, consider wearing two masks to reduce your risk of infection

    There’s some good news for older adults on the novel coronavirus front. Of the people vaccinated to date, more than 40 percent are older adults who now have significant protection against getting sick. If you’re among the unvaccinated, the latest data suggests that you should consider wearing two masks to reduce your likelihood of infection.

    To date, about 40 million people in the US have been vaccinated. And, 17 million of them are over 65. Because older adults are far more at risk of hospitalization and death as a result of COVID, this is welcome news. Older adults should be at the front of the vaccination line, among other reasons, to reduce deaths. Eight in ten people who have died from COVID have been over 65.

    West Virginia is leading the way in vaccinating older people, with more than one in three vaccinated. Other states have vaccinated fewer than one in five older people.

    The federal government prioritized giving vaccines to people living in long-term care facilities, their caregivers and healthcare workers. That said, there are easily 35 million older adults who are still awaiting a vaccine. And, 21 states have not expanded eligibility for the vaccine to all older people, only those with specific health conditions or older than 75.

    If you are still waiting to be vaccinated, consider wearing two masks to reduce your risk of infection. According to the CDC, you want to wear a tight-fitting mask. The disposable surgical masks can serve that role if you tighten them so that air cannot leak out or into them. Then, wear a cloth mask over it.

    Wearing two masks has been found to filter out more than 95 percent of airborne particles. But, they only do so if they are properly fitting, tight around the nose and mouth so that air cannot leak out.

    How do you know if air is leaking out? Put your hand beside your face to feel whether air is coming out. Or, if you wear glasses, they will likely fog up if there’s a leak.

    How can you make a mask tighter fitting? Try knotting the earloops close to the mask. Or, tuck in the sides of the mask near your face.

    Shockingly, only 36 states require mask-wearing in public.

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  • Coronavirus: Wearing a mask helps you

    Coronavirus: Wearing a mask helps you

    We’ve been told over and over again that we need to wear a mask when we are around others in order to keep us from spreading the novel coronavirus if we have it. We have heard less about how we protect ourselves when we wear a mask. The New York Times reports that some experts now say that wearing a mask is likely to minimize your symptoms if you catch the virus, and it might keep you from catching the virus altogether.

    If you wear a mask, you are likely to be blocking others from spreading the virus to you. The degree you block the spread of the virus to you depends upon the mask you wear. Even if the virus is able to get through your mask, many experts believe that you are likely to breathe in a smaller amount of coronavirus particles. As a result, you might experience mild symptoms or no symptoms at all; it will be easier for your immune system to stave off the virus in whole or in part.

    Some experts believe that half or more of the larger aerosols bearing the novel coronavirus are blocked when you wear a mask. The N95 mask works best. But, others work as well, to a somewhat lesser degree.

    To be clear, experts have not found a direct cause and effect link between wearing a mask and staving off the coronavirus or experiencing milder symptoms. But, observational studies show that people who wear masks tend to have milder symptoms if they catch the virus. Other research suggests that wearing a face shield also protects you from catching the virus from others.

    For decades, researchers have believed that the amount of a virus a person contracts affects the degree to which the virus affects the person. In a recent experiment with the flu virus, researchers had people inhale different amounts of the flu virus. They found that people who inhaled more of the virus were more likely to get the flu and show symptoms.

    Because the novel coronavirus can be lethal, researchers cannot perform experiments with it on people. Chinese researchers, however, recently tested the theory that masks offer protection for their wearers on hamsters. Healthy hamsters that were put next to hamsters with the coronavirus, but protected by a mask buffer, were far less likely to get the virus than those not protected by a buffer. The hamsters that were protected and contracted the virus had milder symptoms than those that were unprotected.

    Here are some other interesting data points: As a general rule about 40 percent of people with the novel coronavirus have no symptoms. Wearing masks might increase the extent to which people exposed to the virus are asymptomatic. Researchers found that in a recent outbreak at a seafood plant where some people were wearing masks, asymptomatic cases rose to 90 percent.

    On a March cruise, after everyone received a mask because someone on board had a fever, fewer than 20 percent of people on the ship were symptomatic. But on a February cruise, when virtually no one wore masks, more than 80 percent of people were symptomatic.

    Of course, wearing a mask is not as good protection as staying out of public environments and away from other people.

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  • Coronavirus: Face masks and face shields

    Coronavirus: Face masks and face shields

    You’ve likely already read a lot about the value of wearing a face mask when you are in public spaces. You’ve read less about face shields. Here’s what some experts are saying.

    You should always wear a face mask when you are around other people, both to protect yourself and to protect them. Though there are a range of opinions on the value of face masks, unlike gloves, there is no downside to wearing one. And, the upside is big.

    Some experts say that a face shield also will protect you and those around you, perhaps better than a mask. A face shield is a piece of curved plastic or Plexiglas that you wear over your eyes, nose and mouth.

    Why you should wear a face mask when you are in public spaces

    1. You don’t know who’s healthy and who’s sick. People who seem healthy–who feel healthy–could be carrying the novel coronavirus and spreading it. One in four people infected with the virus are asymptomatic.
    2. You might feel healthy and be carrying the virus. Your face mask protects others from catching the novel coronavirus from you.

    Even with a face mask, to protect yourself, you should limit your exposure to other people as much as possible, keep six feet from others when you are in public, and wash your hands regularly.

    How does a mask compare to a face shield in terms of protection?

    You don’t read a lot about face shields because there is not a lot of good data on their efficacy for the novel coronavirus. But, based on data on the protection a face shield offers for other viruses, some experts believe that a face shield could offer as good or better protection than a mask. It prevents you from spreading the virus. And, it arguably offers more protection from infection for you because it covers your eyes as well as your nose and mouth.

    According to Eli Perencevich, MD, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine,“face shields appear to significantly reduce the amount of inhalation exposure to influenza virus, another droplet-spread respiratory virus. In a simulation study, face shields were shown to reduce immediate viral exposure by 96 percent when worn by a simulated health care worker within 18 inches of a cough.”

    Pediatric infectious disease expert at the Cleveland Clinic, Frank Esper, MD, explains why a face shield could be preferable to a mask. “You don’t get to feel the breeze on your face, but you do get some fresh air, rather than trying to breathe through a cloth mask.” Moreover, face shields are easier to wear and you do not have to adjust them. They are also reusable and easy to clean.

    If you opt to wear a shield, Perencevich advises that “the shield should extend below the chin anteriorly, to the ears laterally, and there should be no exposed gap between the forehead and the shield’s headpiece.”

    And, Amesh Adalja, MD, a pandemic preparedness expert at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says you don’t need to wear a mask if you wear a face shield. AARP quotes Adalja: “I don’t think you get much added benefit to wearing a mask if you’ve already got a face shield on, for the average person.” The odds of the viral particles floating upwards under your shield are a long shot for most of us, he adds: “Someone would have to stand underneath you and sneeze up into you. It would be an odd circumstance that would cause that.”

    However, while the face shield protects you, some believe that you will protect others better if you wear a mask. If you are carrying the virus and cough, the face shield will not catch the droplets as well as a mask.

    The CDC recommends wearing a mask in public settings and has little to say one way or the other about face shields.

    Why some people should wear a mask at home

    Many experts believe that the novel coronavirus can linger in the air. If they are correct and you live in a multi-family home, it is possible that the virus can travel through the vents in your apartment from another unit in your building. That’s how some people appear to have been infected with the virus.

    You should also wear a mask at home if someone in your home is sick. In that case, try to stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom, if possible.

    What kind of mask do you need to wear?

    You don’t need a fancy mask. Simple masks help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. They keep contagious droplets from circulating in the air, blocking almost all of them. If you do not wear a mask, you exhale droplets that can remain in the air.

    Simple masks can also protect you from being infected. Much depends on how well your mask fits and what it is made of. A lot also depends upon whether you keep a six foot distance from others and wash your hands frequently.

    How do you put the mask on?

    Hold the mask by the ear loops when you put it on and take it off. Never touch the fabric piece of the mask with your hands. It filters the germs. If you touch it, you can spread the germs. Always wash your hands before putting your mask on and after taking it off.

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