The Merits of Indoor Mask Wearing

Better Mask High Filtration System Combines Safety and Comfort

Armbrust American Compares Mask Efficiency

Mask Mandates are Likely for Many Areas

Western Wildfire Smoke Creating  Serious Air Problems in Philadelphia

Manitoba Relying on Upgraded HVAC to Keep Children Safe

Better Home Ventilation Now is a Goal of Many Residents

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The Merits of Indoor Mask Wearing

The chances of dying from COVID over the last year were 0.17%.  Your chances of dying in a car accident were 1/20 of that number or 0.008%.

We could avoid riding in cars but the quality of life benefits outweigh the risks. With a risk level of COVID continuing throughout your life you statistically will lose 14 years of life. In contrast avoiding automobile travel would only add 6 months to your statistical life. In principle people  could choose solitary confinement and a rigid health regime and live to be 100. But no one would choose this option compared to living to 80 and enjoying life.

Before the Delta variant became dominant and while we thought we could achieve the 70-80% totally vaccinated rate the expectation was that we would reduce the risks to less than 6 months of life reduction.

We now have to assess the situation in light of the variant and half the population not being vaccinated. There is one risk for vaccinated people and one for unvaccinated. For the unvaccinated the potency of the Delta variant offsets the benefits of the 50% vaccination rate. 

This means that in an indoor setting the unvaccinated will continue to face a statistical life reduction of 14 years. The vaccinated person has 90% protection so without masks he still faces a risk of 1.4 year life reduction.

Another way to look at this is by living a normal life rather than one in solitary you lose 20 years. Another 1.4 years is not an enormous amount. However, the 20 year sacrifice covers all the good food, social activity, and benefits of modern living.

It would be a small comparative reduction in life quality to wear a highly efficient mask in public indoor settings. This would add another 90% in protection and reduce the risk to 0.14 years.

Normal pleasures reduce life expectancy from 100 to 80. But this added risk for the unvaccinated  reduces expectancy to 66 years. On the other hand if you are vaccinated and wear a mask indoors and in public spaces you only reduce life expectancy by two months.

This is a minimal risk and should not impact  normal business and social activity for those who take the precautions.  For the unvaccinated it will be important to mandate masks which would also bring down risks to the 1.4 year loss level.

This comparison has been based on a whole life led at a given risk level. So, the 20 years of normal life lost is an accumulation of thousands of desserts, years of driving, and many other hours of enjoyment.

If one focuses instead on whether to attend a single event such as a wedding or parade a different picture is created. The risk could be 800 times greater than that of a normal day. Some events are worth the high risk. Millions of soldiers have died with this belief. Astronauts willingly take high risks.

A complicating factor is risk to others. Small children cannot be vaccinated and are at risk if adults are not vaccinated. 

 

Better Mask High Filtration System Combines Safety and Comfort

America is opening back up again. With air travel, conferences, and workplaces returning. The Better Mask Kit is claimed to be the best solution for protecting yourself, your coworkers, and your fellow travelers as you enter the new normal.  

The three most important things to consider when choosing a mask are:

Fit: How well does the mask seal?

Filtration: What level of protection does the mask provide?

Comfort: How long can you wear the mask?

By combining the superior filtration of an Armbrust filter with the customizable seal provided by an FTM Essential Brace, The Better Mask is a marriage of form and function designed to provide comfortable, high-level filtration with a better seal around the face. 

The brace's patent-pending nose cushion applies light pressure for a superior fit with minimal leakage for any face shape, while the filtration provided by the Armbrust filter provides a 98% filtration of particles as small as .01 micron.

Armbrust American Compares Mask Efficiency

Particulate Filter Efficiency (PFE) is the standard by which masks are evaluated.

Armbrust American has conducted comparison tests of various masks. It tests to the ASTM standard using a PFE machine to blow .01 micron latex particles through a mask at an airflow of 85L/min in order to max out the mask’s filter.

The machine then uses optical scanning technology to report how many particles slip through.

Tests results for many suppliers in China, the U.S. and elsewhere are provided.  There is a wide range in efficiencies    https://www.armbrustusa.com/pages/mask-testing

 

Mask Mandates are Likely for Many Areas

Two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated individuals didn’t need to wear masks in most settings, a growing number of experts are warning it’s time to put them back on.

First, there was Los Angeles County, where the rising menace posed by the delta variant of the coronavirus prompted health officials to reimpose a mask mandate. Then, Bay Area health officers on Friday recommended that residents of seven counties and the city of Berkeley, Calif., resume wearing masks indoors. Mask mandates are being discussed, too, in coronavirus hot spots such as Arkansas and Missouri, where cases have sharply increased in recent weeks and many residents remain unvaccinated.

“Universal masking indoors is a way of taking care of each other while we get more people vaccinated,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which last week moved to reinstate an indoor mask mandate. “It really doesn’t disrupt any business practices. It allows us to remain fully open — while we acknowledge that the delta variant [is] spreading like wildfire here.”

Los Angeles County said July 15 it will reimpose indoor mask mandates as coronavirus cases linked to the delta variant continued to rise among the unvaccinated. (Reuters)

And the nation’s current and former surgeon generals warned the nation should brace for a broader return to mask-wearing.

“We need to prepare the public for what could be, again, a return to some of these mitigation measures,” former surgeon general Jerome Adams told Indianapolis TV station WISH-TV on Sunday, highlighting a resurgence of the virus across the Midwest. Adams, an appointee of former president Donald Trump, called on the CDC to “hit the reset button” and once again recommend widespread mask-wearing as coronavirus cases spike.

But the growing calls to reinstate mask mandates — echoed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which Monday called for everyone over the age of 2 to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status — renewed a cultural and health flash point a year and a half after the virus landed in the United States.

“We need to be reopening our state, not reimposing unnecessary restrictions,” Kevin Faulconer, the Republican former San Diego mayor now running for California governor, wrote on Twitter last week. The Los Angeles County sheriff last week said he would refuse to enforce the local masking mandate, and Republicans nationally took aim at existing protections. 

The daily average of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases has nearly tripled in the past month, from fewer than 12,000 on June 19 to almost 35,000 on Monday, according to The Washington Post’s seven-day average of coronavirus cases. Experts on coronavirus transmission say masks remain a crucial tool to protect tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans — and even vaccinated people, with growing evidence of breakthrough infections in some fully immunized adults, although health officials have said most people who have died or been hospitalized with covid-19 in recent weeks were unvaccinated.

“The best protection everybody has is masks,” said Kimberly Prather, a professor at the University of California at San Diego who has studied airborne virus transmission and said she “absolutely” supports the resumption of indoor mask mandates. Prather said she has also grown wary of going without a mask in some settings outside, warning that the delta variant is hyper-transmissible.

The delta variant has become the dominant strain of coronavirus in the United States resulting in a rise in infections and hospitalizations. (John Farrell/The Washington Post)

“While delta numbers are going up — and if I’m in a crowded outdoor location with lots of people yelling — I would be wearing a mask,” Prather said.

But many Americans say they have stopped wearing face coverings, and experts acknowledge it will be difficult to persuade them to resume.

“I think people will be disappointed that folks were having some hope and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel — and this would be a suggestion that we’re taking a step back,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Just 55 percent of respondents to an Axios/Ipsos poll in late June said they were wearing masks “sometimes” or “at all times” in public, down from 68 percent who said the same in early June and nearly 90 percent in February, March and early April.

Plescia said he supports the resumption of local mask mandates, given the rise in cases and the growing evidence about the threat of the delta variant.

“You know, recovery from just about anything comes in cycles — things get better, and they get worse, and they get better, and they get worse. It’s rare that it’s linear. And I think that’s what’s going on here,” Plescia said.

Some physicians who embraced mask mandates last year said they’re concerned the moment has passed.

Former Louisiana health commissioner Rebekah Gee, who is CEO of Health Care Services for LSU Health, wrote last year that she favored the use of mask mandates to protect public health. But “at this point, I’m not convinced that requiring masks in every aspect of society is effective,” Gee said Monday, warning that many Americans had tuned out public health officials’ calls to wear masks and take other steps to guard against the coronavirus.

Gee instead said she favors targeted mask requirements, such as mandating use in close quarters or when interacting with vulnerable populations such as children younger than 12, who have yet to get vaccinated. Gee also said she supports private-sector requirements for masks.

The pace of vaccinations has steadily declined from about 2 million shots per day in mid-May to fewer than 550,000 shots a day. Health officials’ goal of ensuring that at least 70 percent of adults receive one shot of a vaccine, which President Biden initially targeted for July 4, is unlikely to be reached before Aug. 10, according to The Post’s projections.

Federal officials have defended the CDC’s earlier decision on mask-wearing. In a Washington Post Live interview Monday, National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins said the CDC’s recommendations for fully vaccinated people to remove their masks were issued before the delta variant began broadly circulating — and before it was clear how much vaccine hesitancy would exist in some parts of the country.

“I know people are tired of masks, but it’s not so awful to consider having to put a cloth mask on your face when you’re inside if it’s going to potentially stop what is, right now, looking like a pretty significant surge of infections, especially in places where vaccination rates are low,” Collins said.

Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said the federal government supports local mask mandates in places where cases are surging or many residents are unvaccinated. 

“It’s very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures, like the mask rules that you see coming out in L.A.,” Murthy said Sunday on ABC News’s “This Week.” “I anticipate that will happen in other parts of the country, too.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/19/mask-mandates-returning/

 

 

Western Wildfire Smoke Creating Serious Air Problems in Philadelphia

Smoke from the massive wildfires burning in Oregon and Canada has drifted over the Philadelphia region in recent days, causing a high level of pollution that could pose a health threat to those with conditions like heart disease, asthma, and emphysema. It even can affect the immune system -- making an encounter with the coronavirus more dangerous.

Can those masks you’ve been wearing to protect against COVID-19 help?

The simple answer: It depends on the mask. But it helps first to understand what the masks are up against.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday, Philadelphia declared a Code Orange pollution action day for fine particles because of high readings due to the wildfires. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also issued a Code Orange alert for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties because of the smoke.

The city’s overall air quality was listed at 145 Wednesday morning, which is in the range interpreted as unhealthy for sensitive groups, according to Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesperson Jim Garrow. That could change if a cold front moves through as expected, bringing thunderstorms.

However, the level of PM2.5 on Tuesday reached 53.5 micrograms per cubic meter, far in excess of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 35 for a daily reading. It was likely only the second time in the last five years levels have reached that high, however that has not yet been officially determined.

“People who have heart and lung problems may experience some health effects and should limit their time outdoors,” Garrow said. “The general public is considered to be much less likely to be affected.”

The pollutant from the wildfire smoke is known as PM2.5, for the very fine particulate matter it contains, defined as concentrations of 2.5 microns or smaller. These particles are so small — far smaller than the width of a human hair — that they are easily inhalable. The World Health Organization says PM2.5 is responsible for the biggest proportion of health effects from air pollution.

Normally, the biggest local sources of PM2.5 are emissions from gas- and diesel-powered vehicles. Power plants are also a source. The particles form when emissions react in the air.

Health effects can stem from short or long exposure and can range from aggravation of asthma and other respiratory illnesses to premature death in people with chronic heart or lung diseases. Children and seniors are most vulnerable.

The worst season for pollution in Philadelphia is typically summer. So, the wildfires are adding to what is already a difficult situation.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that wildfire smoke can irritate lungs, cause inflammation, affect immune systems, and make people more prone to lung infections, including the virus that causes COVID-19.

Russell Zerbo, an advocate with the Clean Air Council, said a volunteer network of air monitors across the region is recording the highest levels of PM2.5 that he’s seen on a sustained basis.

“I’ve never seen such universally high numbers for PM2.5 in Philly,” Zerbo said. “You can see we are at the center of where this is drifting across the country. New York is getting lower readings. North Carolina is getting lower readings. So this cloud is really affecting the Philly-D.C.-Baltimore area.”

Zerbo says N95 masks were made to help construction workers filter out the fine particles emitted during demolition and other hazardous work, and so will help with wildfire smoke.

The CDC agrees, noting that cloth masks, or regular surgical masks, will not protect people from the particulate matter associated with smoke. Cloth masks do help slow the spread of COVID-19 by blocking respiratory droplets but are not designed to catch the very small, harmful particles from wildfire smoke.

The CDC notes that medical workers are the ones who most need access to N95 masks. So it recommends using KN95 respirators that are most commonly made in China and similar to N95 masks. It cautions, however, that buyers should look for KN95 masks that meet requirements similar to those set by the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for respirators. 

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/wildfire-smoke-philadelphia-breathing-covid-masks-20210721.html

 

Manitoba Relying on Upgraded HVAC to Keep Children Safe

With vaccines ramping up and COVID-19 cases going down, 200,000 people in Manitoba are under the age of 12 — nearly 15 per cent of the province's population — and still don't qualify for a coronavirus shot, putting the pressure on school divisions to make sure classrooms are safe. 

Out of the province’s 37 school divisions, 33 tell Global News they've been increasing filter changes or have made adjustments to their HVAC system.

"Even if vaccines became available for the next age group, five to 12, that wouldn't be until the fall. And then you're looking at a month to two months at least before they have full immunity. So these next few months, the students are at risk," said Winnipeg physician Dr. Lisa Bryski.

"We don't want to take chances with people who are vulnerable and put them in a population density of a classroom without vaccines."

One way to keep classrooms safe is to look into schools' ventilation, according to Jeffery Siegel, a professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering at the University of Toronto.

"Ventilation is enormously important for respiratory disease transmission," said Siegel.

He recommends schools take a multi-layer approach.

"We should absolutely be addressing ventilation, filtration in those spaces," he said.

"We know that some people don't wear masks very well. We know that not everyone can be vaccinated. We know that sometimes you can't put in as good a filter as you want or you don't have enough HEPA filters for the classroom.

"So the idea is you want to get as many of these layers as possible."

To have a properly ventilated classroom, Siegel said there should be six air changes every hour. 

Turnover that is as low as one or two is not good enough, as particles can remain in the air for too long, he added.

"A lot of contaminants in the space, as well as respiratory virus particles, can linger for a long enough period of time that we're seeing a higher risk of infection." 

Opening windows can help, he said, but there are a lot of varying factors.

With vaccines ramping up and COVID-19 cases going down, 200,000 people in Manitoba are under the age of 12 — nearly 15 per cent of the province's population — and still don't qualify for a coronavirus shot, putting the pressure on school divisions to make sure classrooms are safe.

Out of the province’s 37 school divisions, 33 tell Global News they've been increasing filter changes or have made adjustments to their HVAC system.

 

Better Home Ventilation Now is a Goal of Many Residents

COVID-19 has changed so many of our behaviors, from how we deal with germs to how we deal with people. It has altered the way we work and the way we view our homes. It has even made us rethink the air we breathe. Prior to the pandemic, air quality was something people generally talked about in the context of air pollution or seasonal allergies. That all changed over the past year.

"A year ago, many people weren't all that interested in air quality," says Ted Myatt, ScD, a senior environmental scientist at Environmental Health and Engineering, Inc., who has spent 20 years studying environmental science. "It's a really important issue people are just now understanding; it's important to think about what you are exposed to-especially in your own home."

According to a study by the EPA conducted pre-COVID, we spend 90 percent of our time indoors, and that has likely increased with the pandemic, especially as more companies commit to the work-from-home model permanently.

Although indoor air quality may not be as visually rewarding as a new countertop or wood floors in our houses, it's an important consideration that can influence the health of our homes and families. We do know that air filters and purifiers can help with allergens, and we are still learning about their role in the spread of viruses, like the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. As interior designers, homeowners, and apartment dwellers begin to better understand the relationship between air quality and our health, here are a few things the pros recommend focusing on as we move forward.

In the past, most of us focused on the heating and AC side, but during the pandemic, the "ventilation" part became top of mind. Essentially, the HVAC in your home is a system for circulating air between indoor and outdoor spaces. An HVAC professional can inspect the system by measuring factors like air exchange rate, or how often the air in a room is replaced with fresh air, to determine if it's time for an updated system.

In addition to potential health benefits, there are also environmental and financial reasons to upgrade your HVAC system. "These days, modern AC units are more efficient and kinder to the environment than those many homeowners may have purchased over the last 15 or 20 years," says interior designer Breegan Jane, who has been working closely with HVAC company Trane Residential to help best advise her clients. "Upgrading your HVAC system is a great way to start adding value to your home," she says, if you are looking to eventually sell.

A new HVAC system can cost a ton of money, so if that's not in the cards, commit to the upkeep of what you have. Jane says that even regular checks can go a long way. "Your HVAC system's filters should be cleaned every 30 to 90 days-not once a year, as we tend to think, to ensure optimal indoor air quality," she says. Air filters are designed to capture all of the yuck: dander, dust, allergens, etc. If we aren't cleaning them, they can't do their job. The same logic applies to air purifiers, too.

The air filtration needs in a high rise apartment building will be different than in a single family home, and the needs may even vary from room to room in your own house if you are considering a portable air purifier.

"Since an apartment is likely smaller than a house, an air purifier will be even more effective there in removing germs," says interior designer Emma Beryl. Plus, a portable air purifier may be the only option in an apartment, where you don't have the same control over a full building airflow redesign. "Think of it as another tool in the toolbox to mitigate exposure," says Myatt.

HEPA filters are certainly the gold standard, but you'll also want to check how much square footage the filter can cover. For example, if your filter is rated for 150 square feet and you place it in a 250-square-foot room, you're only getting partial coverage. Check out our guide to the various types of filters available and where they might work best.

There is a reason that COVID-19 experts said socializing outside was safer than indoors and the CDC recommended opening your windows for increased airflow if you were having people inside. Air stagnation correlates to poor air quality.

Even if you can't update your HVAC system or your older building isn't equipped with one, the CDC offers some easy ventilation mitigation strategies. The simplest solution? Open the windows. Opening a window or door will introduce more outdoor air, preventing stale air from circulating around the room. Using fans, especially when placed strategically, can also help boost the power of open windows. For example, a window fan can be used to exhaust indoor air outside.

Opening our eyes to indoor air quality issues in our own homes may also prompt us to consider the air quality in our schools, office buildings, restaurants, or other public spaces. When debating whether to reopen schools during the pandemic, inspections of air filtration systems in schools became a large focus. And even before the pandemic, one study in Los Angeles questioned whether the installation of air filters in schools could significantly boost the student's test scores.

While the link between air quality and test scores is still up for debate, the correlation between air pollution and worse asthma symptoms has been evidenced in numerous studies, again highlighting air quality as a public health issue. Whether the concern is the spread of airborne diseases, pollutants, or allergens, an increased focus on and demand for improved air filtration in our public spaces has been sparked.

https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/home-improvement/maintenance-repairs/home-air-filtration