Walking up First Street noticing the variety of masks people were wearing, I decided it was time to up my mask game. Since they are now required indoors at public settings in California, I know that all masks aren’t created equal. Two years ago, I started with a common blue surgical mask because it was the easiest to find, then moved on to a beautiful cotton mask made by a friend, followed by a sequined mask for a bit of glamour, and next a black, polypropylene mast from Costco which seemed to fit the bill until the powers that be in California pronounced the N95 with the NIOSH (National Institute of Safety and Health) seal of approval the gold standard. Wanting to buy local, walked up to Rite Aid and was told that they don’t carry the N95s. Then, over at Pedrotti’s Ace Hardware, I was overwhelmed with all of the choices. I finally asked a clerk to help me, and we spent some time reading all of the packages on Aisle 10 to see which ones were NIOSH approved. Ended up buying over $100’s worth of 3M 8511 masks.
Unwrapping them back home, noticed the vent on the front. Hmmmm. Wouldn’t the vent which expels the breath defeat the purpose? Back to the internet. When used for infectious diseases vented masks must be worn with a cloth or surgical mask over it to catch the expelled aerosols. Back to Ace. A fellow at check-out told me that the Covid masks were on the stand by the front door and all other masks on aisle 10 where a clerk had taken me initially. When I got to the Covid mask shelf by the front door, noticed that about half of the masks had the vent. The ventless N95s they did have were all marked small/pequeno so I picked up several packages assuming that they ran large and explained to the store supervisor that the vented masks did not belong with the other Covid N95s and could do more harm than good. He said that the clerks at check out make sure customers have the correct masks. That hadn’t been my experience. He refunded the entire amount on the vented masks despite my having opened one of them.
When I got home, I tried on one of the new ones, and it was so small that it would have fit a spider monkey. When I took it off I had new dimples in my cheeks. It was back to the drawing board and another trip to Ace. The next day the vented masks were still on Ace’s Covid mask shelf. Caveat emptor!
A few days earlier had emailed my Kaiser doctor for a mask recommendation. She replied that she had to do a little research before she could give me a good answer! That was revealing in itself. The upshot — use the N95 vented mask but with a disposal surgical mask over it to catch the aerosols. I’d already returned the vented masks so that was a nonstarter.
My research continued. Single layer gaiters are 37.8% effective; bandit-style cotton bandana 44.7%; blue surgical disposables 38.5%, but when ear bands are knotted and tucked 60.3%; For how to knot and tuck see: https://coronavirus.medium.com/how-to-wear-your-mask-knotted-and-tucked-a46d23c03c6; NIOSH approved N95s without vent are 98.4% effective.
What N95 to Buy — NIOSH approved, ventless, metal nose band, fastened with two head bands, by a known manufacturer that lists their contact number on the box or bag. N95s may be harder to breath in. If you’re not going to wear it or it’s doesn’t fit, it’s not for you.
What Not to Get — CDC has a list of fraudulent masks. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html.
CDC’s latest guide for masks — https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html. You want a mask with nose wires, no gaps, and no light shining through the fabric (3 layers). They still haven’t anointed the N95 for non-surgical use.
Information is changing daily and there is little agreement among scientists, manufacturers, retailers, medical personnel, and regulators. What does woven or non woven material even mean, and how can you tell? KN95s are supposed to be as effective as N95s but evidently 60% of the KN95s available on-line are fraudulent. CDC’s websites haven’t quite caught up with the latest science. California seems to be ahead of the game in recommending N95s. I was stunned at how often Amazon’s name came up. They seem to be dominating the market and have numerous websites using names other than Amazon to direct traffic to their warehouses. Scary for a whole variety of reasons.
Back on First Street, I saw every kind of face covering possible but no N95s until two young women rounded the corner. “Are those N95s?” “Yes, they are,” they said in unison. “Where did you get them, if you don’t mind my asking?” “Scrounged them up out of a drawer, left over from the big fires in 2017,” said one of the girls. Bingo! Back home found my own cache from 2017 stored in the garage. Could have saved myself a lot of trouble.
Letters From Benicia 