Masks work. Especially respirator-style N95 masks.
Amid an ongoing pandemic and outbreaks of influenza and RSV caused by airborne viruses, arguing over the virus-blocking power of masks remains one of the COVID era’s signature follies. Disconcertingly, despite decades of evidence of their efficacy, some of the disagreement comes from a few in the medical field itself, misusing science and endangering lives.
Comments closedComments closedGetting rid of masking means I can’t safely get the care I need. I need regular follow-up care, and because I’m immunocompromised, getting Covid in hospital is a massive risk… Right now, one of my greatest health risks is accessing medical care.
Masks unequivocally mitigate the spread of airborne pathogens. When the havoc being wreaked by COVID is still rampant, it is dumbfounding why universal mandatory masking would be removed in health-care settings — especially acute-care hospitals filled with the vulnerable sick, the immunocompromised, and those with significant pre-existing illness.
Comments closedB.C.’s human rights commissioner is criticizing provincial health officials for ending mask mandates in health-care settings, saying it puts the most vulnerable and marginalized people at risk.
Comments closedAbout 86% of people are still wearing masks in public a month after Japan’s guidelines were eased, according to an artificial intelligence system developed by broadcaster NTV surveying people at Tokyo Station.
Comments closedMasks have played a key role in keeping us all safe throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. At the start, masks helped flatten the curve to protect our hospital systems, and since, masks have helped make public spaces and essential services more open and accessible to everyone. Many studies show that masks work, and they work best when everyone wears a high-quality one to protect each other. Masks are magnificent.
Comments closedComments closedAre we OK with children being hospitalized for infectious diseases at far higher rates, as they have recently been? Are we fine with COVID being the No. 1 cause of infectious disease-driven death in children? Also, what if there is a number of reinfections at which average outcomes really start to worsen?
There is strong and consistent evidence for the effectiveness of masks and (even more so) respirators in protecting against respiratory infections. Masks are an important protection against serious infections.
Comments closedPeople who are COVID-aware or at high risk discuss the mental health burden of staying safe.
Comments closedThey aren’t perfect, but they certainly help curb airborne transmission of viruses.
Comments closedYou cannot claim you care about equity, accessibility, or disabled people if you aren’t helping to create safe spaces for everyone — this includes the basic practice of masking.
Comments closedKeeping B.C. schools open without better COVID-19 protections is a recipe for disaster, a coalition of advocates says.
Comments closedWelcome to the “Live with COVID” era, where living with the virus means not talking about it at all. We’ve been told to pretend it’s over, though those “weird summer colds” and “lingering symptoms” indicate otherwise. Rising case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths. Best Summer Ever 2.0 is ending, which means kids are about to return for their third pandemic September.
Comments closedHigh school students across Manitoba walked out of class last Monday to demand improved COVID-19 safety measures as in-person learning resumes.
Organized by the group MB Students for COVID Safety, the walkout’s demands included the option to return to remote learning if students wish and increased funding for safety measures for those who prefer in-person learning.
Comments closedProperly worn, it’s vastly superior against Omicron. Say it loud and ramp up its availability.
Comments closedNHS staff treating Covid patients should be given much more protective facewear than thin surgical masks to help them avoid getting infected during the Omicron rise, doctors say.
The British Medical Association (BMA), Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) and Doctors’ Association UK are calling for frontline personnel to be given FFP3 masks.
Comments closedOntario health officials are changing a key recommendation on the use of hospital personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the “potential” that the highly-transmissible Omicron variant can spread at a distance through the air.
Health-care workers providing care to a “suspected or confirmed” COVID-19 patient in hospitals, long-term-care homes, or in a home-care situation will now be required to also use a “fit-tested, seal-checked N95 respirator,” according to interim guidance issued by Public Health Ontario Wednesday.
Comments closed“Once FFP3 respirators were introduced, the number of cases attributed to exposure on COVID-19 wards dropped dramatically – in fact, our model suggests that FFP3 respirators may have cut ward-based infection to zero.”
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