Residents vs. Tourists

[terracore]

Thanks for the tip. I just bought a couple of boxes, and the shipping to Hawaii was under $5.

[randomq]

On surgical masks, I just punch a hole and tie the string back in place. They're actually tighter and better fitting after the first failure

I personally don't wear a mask on the beach, except on the way in and out. We're usually 10+ ft from the nearest people. I haven't been since the tourists came back though, might be more crowded now.

[Kaimana]

I bought a box of 20 N95s for my shop a couple of years ago for about 20 bucks.  Even if they would cost double that now....2 bucks each?  People wouldn't spend that?  Most of the masks I see cost more than that.  Here's one:

https://www.anchorout.com/products/im-on-lake-time-oceanscape-standard-face-mask-with-filters?variant=32506297024559&msclkid=26f6a5cbfc1e17fa8dc2c5b2b5e142f6&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ShopifyV2_Initial-Microsoft-Campaign_113288249391&utm_term=4588193305226161&utm_content=ShopifyImportAdGroup

Only $40.  For one.

I looked on amazon and for a pack of 20 genuine N95 masks it was $50. That's actually way down from before. I was assuming they were going to be at the same prices that they were during the beginning of the pandemic when they were sky high. Thanks for that. I'm probably going to buy a pack for situations when I have to be around people for extended periods of time. 

It's still way cheaper to get the surgical masks. I see them going for $10-$15 for 100 pack.

[randomq]

Since I got the shot I feel like a surgical mask is perfectly adequate. I would reevaluate if some particularly nasty or breakthrough variant is discovered, but at this point I'm probably not going to be contributing to spread.

[1voyager1]

As a retired contractor, I have a LONG history of using 3M N95 paper masks.
I still have a box on the shelf labeled as 8210's, double elastic bands.
It also contains the leftovers from about 1/2 of another box added to it.
It's been a while, but it seems that I used to pay quite a bit less than $20/box.
I would buy them by the case.

Then during the eruption, when we were inundated on occasion by the expelled sulphur gasses, sometimes so thick it was like a nasty London fog, I picked up a few 3M 6220 respirators and acid gas cartridges for them.
The mask itself cost $10.
The cartridges were more.
I still have 3 or 4 masks and 4 sets of cartridges, 3 completely unused.
The last time I checked, $60 and more was the going price for just the mask.

During the first days of the epidemic, I purchased a number of P100 filters (6 pair) for the 6220 mask.
The price on those has also skyrocketed.
But, they have a lifetime rated as 30 days when used everyday, all day in a working environment modified downward by the amount of actual dust present in the air.
I'm still using the first pair I installed.
I still have 5 pairs as backup.

If I go into public once a week, I'm going a lot.
The mask normally just sits in my car for when I need it.

Viruses are dispersed directly from person to person [doner to recipient] and maybe from surfaces recently passed by carriers.
Their lifetimes are usually calculated at best as being hours when exposed.

Watching the idiots that misuse the masks or other much less efficient methods, makes me very happy I have the equipment I do.
It protects me from them, and everyone else from any bad luck I may end up with.

[My 2 cents]

My search didn't turn up any 6220 masks. Did you mean 6200? Anyway, if your mask has an exhale valve like the 6200 then you are protecting yourself but not others. A friend of mine was using a N95 with a valve and they wouldn't let him into KTA.

But getting the vax doesn't protect others from you either, so I guess we have gone from the protecting others narrative to looking out for ourselves.

[randomq]

They're saying now that the vax mostly protects others, but there is a small chance that a breakthrough virus could infect you long enough to spread, or you could get a very small nasal infection which wouldn't shed much.

I think it's still worth wearing some kind of mask even if you are vaccinated, but the chances of spreading it are much lower in any case.

I'm happy we're hashing out the last few percent of spread, instead of where we were a year ago!

[My 2 cents]

They're saying now that the vax mostly protects others

Sorry, but I have to ask who "they" are. Have the manufacturers changed their position?

[randomq]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco...eople.html

"a growing body of evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccines may also reduce asymptomatic infection, and potentially transmission. "

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/future-...rna-pfizer

"a growing body of evidence suggests the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines do, in fact, cut down on viral transmission. Two recent studies show some pretty favorable results — one from the UK that found that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine cut down by 86 percent someone’s chances of developing an infection that they could pass along, the other a study in Israel that found an 89.4 percent reduction (though it should be noted that the Israeli study has yet to be fully released). These findings are consistent with what we know about vaccines and transmission in general."

[My 2 cents]

Seriously and very sincerely, I hope they are right.