Calls for masks are back as the Delta Variant of COVID-19 is spreading around parts of the U.S. Despite resistance by some to masks, health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization say that the wearing of masks can help prevent the stronger Delta strain of COVID from spreading.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, brought a new variable to the question of masking or not masking on Thursday.
Should you ditch the cloth variety and buy an N95 respirator?
N95 respirators look like masks but offer much more protection against airborne particles. Early in the pandemic, these respirators were in very short supply, and what was available was carefully being distributed in health care settings. That has now changed over a year later. N95 masks are widely available.
According to the FDA, an N95 respirator is a respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles. The edges of the respirator are designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth. Surgical N95 Respirators are commonly used in health care settings but can be purchased by the general public too.
Osterholm explained that while cloth masks offer some protection, they are nowhere near as effective as N95 or other medically designed masks.
“I am not a big fan of cloth masks,” Osterholm began. “But let me be very clear. I'm very, very much a fan of respiratory protection. I think face cloth coverings offer some limited protection, but it is quite limited.”
How limited? Again, Osterholm provides some interesting numbers that illustrate the difference between a simple cloth covering, and an N95 respirator.
“If I were in a room right now with someone who had COVID and was quite infectious, I would likely have an infectious dose inhaled into my lungs within 15 minutes,” Osterholm says. “If I put on a facecloth covering, I may get 20 minutes. If I wear an N95 respirator, I'll get 25 or more hours.”
That’s a massive difference in protection. That said, Osterholm does say you should still do what you can even if an N95 respirator isn’t available.
“I just want to be really clear. My message continues to be, yes, you do get great protection when you use the kind of respirator protection we're talking about,” he says.
“Unfortunately the term mask has come to mean anything you can put in front of your face. We need to do a better job of clarifying that N95s are readily available today in any number of locations. Online, hardware stores, etc. You can also use the KN95, the Chinese equivalent, that has been approved.”
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While watching the Olympics, many athletes have worn N95 Respirators including Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova who won the bronze in the all-around (she is on the left in the photo at the top of the page).
U.S. Athletes, despite the fancy look to their face wear, are not wearing medically-designed masks. Those are actually designed by Nike and are more of a fashion statement than they are for health protection. The design is intended to evoke Japanese origami folds and allow for better airflow. They are not more effective at blocking airborne viruses, however.
It should be noted, buying an N95 respirator is not expensive. Prices on Amazon for N95’s are in the range of $60-$70 for a forty-count. The Chinese-produced KN95 respirators Osterholm mentions are even less. It’s certainly not a price issue if you’re looking for increased protection.
As far as being vaccinated and wearing masks, Osterholm says nothing is going to be 100 percent effective so do everything you can.
“What the CDC addressed earlier this week was the fact that we're now finding that when people do have breakthrough infections, the level of virus in their respiratory tract is similar to if they have never been vaccinated,” he says.
“That's a whole different issue. Now, someone who has been vaccinated can potentially transmit the virus and that's what that is about.”
The clear reality, according to Osterholm, is to get vaccinated and continue to wear something over your face.
“[The CDC] call it masking again,” he said. “I come back and say, please wear an N95. If I'm in a setting where I think that someone is potentially at risk of getting infected, if I were infected, and they have a likelihood of having a serious illness older, some of the immune-compromised, I would want to wear an N95 respirator."
Osterholm does add, if you know you’re in a space where people are vaccinated and you know they’re not infected, then there is no reason to wear a mask.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, addressed the changing guidance from the CDC, which in mid-May said most fully vaccinated people don't have to wear masks indoors or outdoors.
"We are dealing with an evasive type of a virus. It evolves," Fauci said. "People need to understand. It's a painful realization, but it's true. We're dealing with a virus that's a wily character."
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CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday, through investigations of Covid-19 outbreaks, they have determined the Delta variant is more likely to infect even fully vaccinated people.
"What we've learned in that context is that when we examine the rarer breakthrough infections, and we look at the amount of virus in those people, it is pretty similar to the amount of virus in unvaccinated people," Walensky said.
Osterholm says this is just one more way you can protect yourself and your family.
“I have talked to three different people in the last week, all who have lost a family member over the course of the last month,” Osterholm told WCCO.
“All family members who said, I'm never going to get vaccinated, and now they don't have to worry about it because they're not here with us anymore. I think that's what we want to avoid. Please understand what the implications are here. Please get vaccinated for you, for your loved ones, for your colleagues, for your friends. Get vaccinated.”
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