Wuhan Corona Virus Coming Soon? (Now Here)

[PaulW]

Oh really? Strange, I thought you wrote earlier this month:
"I bought a box of 'em just the other day from the pharmacy department of a very popular locally owned market."
Maybe I'm dreaming.

[sistersue]

I heard on CNN news that Azithromycin isn't used to prevent bacterial infection but because it greatly reduces inflammation in the lungs.

[Guest]

No, you're not dreaming Paul. I have bought a few boxes to give away since then as well. I keep them in the car and usually give people ten in a baggie, left half of a box with the kids, stuff like that. I've been an advocate since those ash clouds rose out of Halemaumau. More so since good ol #19 came to roost. Like I said, I've used them to protect myself from the flu for more than ten years now. Severely compromised lungs, even the common garden variety stands a chance of landing a knockout blow.

Paul if you are looking for some kind of confirmation that you are cool, right, superior to the rest of us, try looking through your earlier arguments in this thread. Very illuminating. You've been fighting this thing since the get go. And for what? Everything folks like ironyak have said was coming is coming, is here. The economy is gone, the island's in lockdown, the world is going crazy and millions of people are suffering and bodies are piling up. All predicted, all refused to be acknowledge by you. Endlessly. It's really good reading, sort of a comedy of errors. You should give it a spin.

It's probably worth adding that since this became a crisis my family has been making masks that are going directly to healthcare workers, my daughter is a dress designer and went into it full on as soon as the need was apparent.

And still if there is a boogieman in the closet it's the executive branch at the federal level. There's a supply chain and it's disrupted. In a time of national crisis they have the authority, and the means to impose strict regulations and insure proper distribution. I mean, come on, we have the biggest baddest most robust military in the world and we can't insure a supply of masks? We have the buying power of the US Treasury and we don't have enough masks? The pubic, the consumer, is just following their own instincts of self preservation. They are innocent in this.

[PaulW]

Oh well , at least you’re honest enough to own up to hoarding supplies of essential equipment despite repeated calls by the government not to.
Maybe donate to the HMC? If so, no harm done. We all have to help each other.

[My 2 cents]

Homemade masks are about 50% efficient, and that figure varies widely depending on materials, design, etc. That rating applies to the wearer of the mask. What I would like to know...is there an efficiency rating (or estimate) for the containment abilities? It has been widely asserted that masks are more effective when worn by the sick person to contain the coughs and sneezes. It would be nice to know how a homemade mask compares to a N-95 in that regard.

[Guest]

Fixing America's broken coronavirus supply chain

From: https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-supply...c5320.html

Which Begins...

The senior Navy officer now in charge of fixing America's coronavirus supply chain is trying to fill the most urgent needs: ventilators and personal protective gear. But barely a week into his role at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he's still trying to establish what's in the pipeline and where it is...

The rest at the link above..

[ironyak]

My 2 cent - It has been widely asserted that masks are more effective when worn by the sick person to contain the coughs and sneezes. It would be nice to know how a homemade mask compares to a N-95 in that regard.

This has a pretty good overview about homemade masks including a link to the 2013 study that I tend to see often cited (cloth masks better than nothing, but surgical masks 3x more efficient at containing transmissions from an infected person). Also has patterns and DIY instructions.
https://www.livescience.com/cloth-masks-...virus.html

N95s are intended to prevent catching the virus not so much for containment. When properly fitted, breathing through an N95+ respirator is laborious and even healthcare workers often have to take breaks to catch their breath. No doubt they are far better than surgical masks in containing the virus as they are ~25x better at preventing catching it and versions are used during surgery to maintain sterile conditions (although some have exhalation valves which would negate this containment - see CDC link). However, if you're sick with a respiratory illness (coughing / difficulty breathing) using an N95 is the last choice you'd want to make. Probably best to stick with a surgical mask or a cloth mask if that's what's available.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco...e-faq.html

[My 2 cents]

If I am wearing a homemade mask, it's better than nothing. If you and I are both wearing cloth masks, I would suggest that that is substantially better than nothing.

I wonder where we would be today if the CDC approach 2 months ago would have been to tell everybody to make their own masks and wear them, saving the production medical masks for the health care workers.

Or, if you prefer foresight to hindsight, where might we be 2 months from now if this approach was adopted now.

[SBH]

We need to do everything possible to stop this spread now and homemade masks may help. Rumor has it the CDC is about to do a 180 on their advice...

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/12...9553634305

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4293989/

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/...w-pandemic

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30229968/

[geochem]

quote:

---

Originally posted by My 2 cents

If I am wearing a homemade mask, it's better than nothing. If you and I are both wearing cloth masks, I would suggest that that is substantially better than nothing.

I wonder where we would be today if the CDC approach 2 months ago would have been to tell everybody to make their own masks and wear them, saving the production medical masks for the health care workers.

Or, if you prefer foresight to hindsight, where might we be 2 months from now if this approach was adopted now.

---

You are 100% correct - I think many people miss the point with face masks (in many ways) - one function is to intercept droplets, but a far more important one is to keep you from touching your face with your infectious hands... If the mask is only 50% effective at intercepting droplets and 100% effective at keeping your hands off your nose, mouth and eyes, then it may be 99% effective at avoiding infection. This doctor from NYC, who clearly has some experience with the problem, agrees with that assessment: https://vimeo.com/399733860