I can never thank you enough for synthesizing this information and making it so easily accessible for those not in the know. You've changed the trajectory of the pandemic for me and my loved ones
Thank you for doing what the government has NOT. You know if you look at places that should be doing these kinds of videos, the government, consumer reports, for testing you find ZIP. Being able to test fit is really what people need, and to learn how to wear masks properly. The vast majority of people have totally given up on using masks, unless required for some medical office. I can understand that for young people it is not an issue. but many older people really need to use them. I can tell you 90% plus of the elderly I have seen are maskless in stores, churches and the like. We mask when shopping and at church and often when grandchildren visit, but not always, they are worth the risk of being with in normal ways, otherwise why be here. I use the Kimberly-Clark duckbill style, it is one-use style. Billions spent on covid and the most basic questions about exposure, survivability by specific age and vaccination status are kept hidden. Government statistics occur in giant, seemingly deliberately convoluted spread sheets. It all smacks of deep moral turpitude in high places, in my estimation. You have to go to the Our World Data for the graphs, who knows if they are accurate. Thanks again for your efforts. May God bless you for it. God bless!
Hi Aaron, I’m a mechanical engineer who did some work in fluid mechanics using CFD (Ansys and Flotherm) for the purposes of figuring out if electronics would get to hot. I only found your youtube channel in the past couple weeks. I wish I had found it when you started it as I had basically been telling everyone since March 2020 that Covid is airborne (I read some chatter by aerosol scientists in April 2020 maybe one of them was you), air follows the path of least resistance so that mask with the gaps all around it is not going to magically filter all the air you breathe, to wear an N95 to protect themselves but watch out for counterfeits, to crack windows and run exhaust fans when guests are over, and I basically felt like I was banging my head against a wall. I wish I had had your videos to back up what I was saying. I only found your channel because someone gave your name in the comments of a MedCram article. Thanks for sharing the info on Marwa Zaatari; I didn’t know anything about her until todays video!- Kimberly O’Donnell
I have no formal expertise, but that was basically me starting Feb. 2020. The fact that it was airborne wasn't even a secret. The WHO head even made it clear early on. BUT govs were afraid of telling the truth bc how are you going to keep things running via having people risk their lives and the lives of people they live with. Sounds like a conspiracy, and the generous take was preserving supplies for medical professionals (which was admitted to by at least the Surgeon General). But I thought about it more, and talking about handwashing then droplets sounds a lot less scary than it being airborne without enough adequate supplies. What's frustrating is that things could've been much better even by using what existed better. Like opening windows and doors, using non-woven fabric, taping procedural masks, etc from the start. Instead, we got 80+ trucks full of bodies and sirens non-stop just in NYC.
I love all this information but in my area, I don't even know how to get fit tested or if that's even a safe option. The worst part about all of this is you are really on your own to protect yourself and finding information is so difficult. Thank you!
My partner works as a court reporter, so they're often in small conference rooms sitting near people who rarely wear masks. We got an elastomeric respirator with P100 filters. It fits great, it's more comfortable than an N95, and it has a button you can press to check your face seal (after six months of use, they've never felt air getting in around the mask). We don't care if an elastomeric respirator is overkill. The peace of mind we get knowing they're as safe as possible around people is worth it.
Hi! If it’s okay with you, could you share which specific elastomeric respirator you got? Either the name or a link to where to buy it would be awesome :)
@@jontrollinski9692 From the description, it's almost certainly one of the 3M secure click respirators. I'm not going to put a link here because that often gets comments auto deleted as spam on RUclips. The secure click respirators have a one button user seal check option. And the one that I've seen before has a speech diaphragm, a thin membrane that transmits sound well through the mask to help you be understood. I'm not sure if they all have that feature.
I used a P100 for a time. Advantages: better seal and filtration, easy pressure check, easier to don and doff, is reusable. Disadvantages: voice is muffled, feels awkward to wear in public. I now use an Aura N99, less conspicuous, but costlier as I have to replace every week.
Oversimplified summary: "it's the fit, silly.". Really interesting and useful analysis. Some of those tables could have benefitted from color (conditional formatting) but I'm a numbers guy so I got it 😉
It would be really helpful if respirator manufacturers were required to print the pressure drop on their filters. I find the 3M 7093s to be more effort to breath through than I like, and the MSA P100s for the Advantage 900 are similar. But I find the Dentec P100s for their NxMDs to be low enough breathing resistance that it doesn't bother me. So it seems like there could be some P100s that get closer to your ideals for work vs. filtration efficiency calculations, but as consumers we don't have good ways to know which is which. 3M makes "Advanced" more breathable pancake P100 filters but I have no idea how much lower the pressure drop may be :-( As it is, NIOSH apparently tells mask makers **not** to use their NIOSH test results in marketing, including pressure drop. NIOSH should be doing the opposite and publicly publish the test results for all masks that pass NIOSH certification. They already did something similar earlier in the pandemic for some respirators, publishing respirator assessments and the test data.
I agree plus education on this topic. When it comes to disposables the usable surface area should be taken into account with the testing. Duckbills tend to provide more surface area for example which helps.
Some do provide the info. Sundström claims that their SR510 P3 filter has a pressure drop of 40Pa at 30L/min and 120Pa at 90L/min flow rates. Also GVS Elipse P3 filters are easier to breathe through than some FFP2 respirators in my experience. So the extra cost in pressure drop doesn't seem to be there in the case of some elastomeric masks.
You are the MOST amazing communicator. Incredible. And even more incredible considering you're an engineer :D) Happy to support the gofundme in gratitude for all of the critically important information you've provided my family over the last couple of years since we found you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I would think that the face seal for surgical masks is atrocious. Sometimes gaps are actually visible over the nose. I can't believe that medical professionals often use them. Oh well.....
Yeah, the actual filter medium for procedure masks tends to be pretty good but without a brace like Fix The Mask to hold it tightly sealed to one's face that high filtration efficiency becomes moot 😕
The original purpose of surgical masks was to prevent droplets in the surgeon's breath (not aerosols) from infecting *the patient*. They're fine for that. I agree that medical personnel should really be switching to N95 now - it's 2022, folks.
@@RJLalumiere Pretty good if proper ASTM certified masks. There are also "procedure masks" that are basically cloth. Maybe aimed at dentists? One paper reported "surgicals" being bimodal in filtration, either very good or crap.
In my experience that is about all they are wearing. Even dentists. A few doctors were the only medical personnel I ever saw with an N95. I got a vaccine from a pharmacist and during the time I was talking to him his medical mask fell below his nose a dozen times.
@@lockbert99 Depends a lot on where you are. I had some stuff done in Mexico City. Dermatologist and first dentists were in 'procedure' masks, but my second dentist met me in an N95, put a procedure mask over that for the actual dental work (to keep her N95 from getting splashed, maybe?) and had an air purifier running. Also the windows open but everyone had that. Back in the US, I got my bivalent at Walmart. I forget what the pharmacists wore, but one them dropped hers whenever she moved toward the back. OTOH, in Mexico City maybe 1/3 of people were wearing KN95s, and in Berkeley I've seen a lot of different respirators, including Aura, Vflex, and plain old cup.
Thank You Aaron Collins! I refer anti-maskers to your videos. Some will always get through. SO I USE HOMEMADE, ANTIVIRAL NOSE/MOUTH/THROAT, SPRAYS just before and after masking and for additional prophylaxis / prevention, some eye protection - at least ordinary glasses, (if not glasses with side shields and antiviral eye drops) and homemade, antiviral, nasal "flush" / mouthwash/gargle / eye wash after the "shared air" experience. Easy to do once a routine is established.
Thanks for your video I have learned a lot because of you. Been really sick with covid for a week now despite having 4 doses of Moderna ( including the omicron booster ). I'm definitely gonna restart wearing the better masks now.
One thing I've been wondering is what the relationship between pressure drop and face seal is - i.e., how much does a higher pressure drop filtration media affect how hard it is to get a high fit factor? Intuitively, it would seem like the impact of very small leaks would be magnified by higher resistance in the media, by making filter bypass more likely - especially at higher respiration rates/volumes.
It does, I have been working offline on a test to show that. Using packaging tape to restrict flow on a mask and thus make it harder to breathe. For my test it gets tough since it also reduces the filter area, so just need to figure out how to do it and will likely use the Portacount with N95 Companion
I was wondering if this would be like a two resistors in parallel, leakage with low R ohm and filter media with high R ohm both having the same voltage or in this case pressure drop applied with current through each as flow rate. The higher value of R for filter media, the more of the current flows through smaller R leakage, basically more difficult to get a good fit , thought?
@@coll0412 One idea I had was to use an elastomeric with different filters that have a variety of pressure drops, and intentionally compromise the face seal - a few days of stubble would probably do it. Then see if using higher-resistance P100 media is actually worse under some circumstances than very breathable N95 media on an N95 Portacount test due to increased filter bypass. I think a lot of mask enthusiasts doggedly pursue perfection at the expense of easier-to-implement meaningful improvements in protection for a larger part of the population, and data on the impact of some of those compromises can only be a net benefit.
One thing to note is that a surgical mask has much more leakage than an N95/KN95/KF94. This can be partially remedied with the knot and tuck method but it still won't be as good as a respirator.
Hey Aaron; thanks, as always, for wonderfully informative context. The one thing I think we could use more consideration of is the difference in pressure drop between N100 and P100 variants, since it felt strange hearing the high pressure drop being attributed solely to the difference in filter media to provide oil resistance, when the line combines P and N together. It's a small gripe, and I know that P100 are far more common than N100, but I could see there being some curious people (like me) who would enjoy that distinction. (But don't worry-message received nonetheless: fit fit fit! As someone who used 3m's P100s on an elastomeric half-mask in the early days before the vaccines, then switched to paper 95s, I definitely think this information should be comforting to those who might otherwise feel they need to get the higher-rated ones at potential cost to their breathability.)
I use to be in biomedical research so the situation with Dr. Zaatari hit home. Will definitely help out. Since KF94 also tests for paraffin oil aerosol, willl their filters be considered R95 or P95 quality (ignoring fit for this purpose)
I was also wondering about KF94/FFP2 masks, which do get tested with oil droplets. Since Dr. Susan Oliver mentioned them, now I also want to know the specs of the Australian P1 standard.
The big issue I see with this argument is an elastomeric p100 has significantly lower total inward leakage than any n95, especially under movement. So when you upgrade filtration you’re also upgrading fit. This is especially true when compared to ear loop KF/KN masks which have a design assumption of even higher leakage.
1) Comparing elastomeric P100 to non-elastomeric N95 is apples-to-oranges, 2) you can get N95 filters for elastomerics and benefit from the better breathability as mentioned in the video, 3) this video is not about elastomerics, despite one visually appearing at the start of the video
They can in theory, but a fit test is still required to know for sure. To me elastomerics are more about cost and seal comfort. They on average do better but are not 10x better or anything The half mask was supposed to be like the skull from Hamlet :) jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763841 twitter.com/ToshiAkima/status/1561708728361308160
@@coll0412 For sure. At minimum though in the absence of equipment a positive pressure check is a LOT easier to execute on most elastomerics. Whenever you get your universal mask done that would be great ;)
I breathe better using a elastomeric p100 mask than an n95 mask. Because it has a vent. Also, the fit is better as I'm never sure if I've got the metal nose strip molded correctly with n95's. Negative pressure tests with a elastomeric are really easy also.
@@robertgaines9286 None of the issues you describe are P100 vs. N95 issues. What you are describing in the first is the difference between valved and unvalved respirators, both of which are available in P100 or N95 versions. Nose strips are also different from mask to mask rather than being a P100 vs. N95 issue. And Elastomerics can take different filters, including N95 and P100, so user seal checks are no a "P100" feature.
FYI - They're running a pre-roll ad before this video that shows spitting or vomiting which it very disgusting and it's probably significantly reducing your views. I don't know if you have any way exclude specific ads, but if you do I suggest you ax that one.
I am no longer supporting twitter (I am now on mastodon) due to fascist and frankly neo nazi tweets from the owner of that business, so I have missed your posts. I check here periodically to see if there is anything new, and lo and behold there was this video and another which I will check out in a minute. This is exactly the question I have had as a teacher, especially with the new variant XBB15. I think based on this, I will stick to the n95 I am currently using (Blox surgical duck bill) and continue to tape it to my face to ensure fit. Thank you again for all you do!
Hi Aaron, Amazing video so far. I'm just at10:37 your speaking about taping cloth masks to your face and you say 37 probability but your chart says 27. Which is it? thanks will keep watching now
I haven't been keeping up with your videos lately and wonder why kn94's in this analysis video. That would be cool to see vs n95. Are n95's the recommendation these days over kn94's?
@@inuaineko if it's gets damp from light rain or an unfortunate sneeze its totally fine. However if you dunk it in water it's best to just toss that one
@@postaldaytrader Thank you Rick for your suggestions. Just to be clear, you're not affiliated with either of the two companies you mentioned. Correct? FLTR KN95 filters well in Aaron's test. But I agree with him that the nose wire doesn't seal very well. What I do is that I put sticky nose wire on every mask. I'm not sure if the cost if worth it. I may use 3M VFlex instead....
@@postaldaytrader Good to hear. I followed your advice to look at these 2 brands. The per mask cost is $2.5 or $1.5 and 3M Vflex is 70 cents. I may stick with 3M Vflex. Thank you for your suggestions again!
I would love if you would comment on Dr John Campbell's recent video claiming masks do not work based on a lit review. I believe that this is objectively wrong given what we clearly know about masks.
The good news is Chochrane themselves released a statement, which says "Many commentators have claimed that a recently-updated Cochrane Review shows that 'masks don't work', which is an inaccurate and misleading interpretation. ", so even they recognize the B.S. around this study www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review
Your risk assessment model talks about number of people in the conference room, one infected with Covid not wearing a mask, but it’s not clear how long you’re spending in the room. That makes a difference, doesn’t it?
This is a wonderful video, and you are doing a true service to humanity. Never forget that! ❤ I would like to suggest one correction: it is always desirable for someone to wear a mask with higher filitration, provided that they have addressed fit-testing first, as you recommend. The infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2 is increasing with time. The masking habits people develop today will have decreasing effectiveness in the future. It is important that everybody wear the highest quality mask they can afford at all times when around non-household members. You mention it being "a good deal" to wear a fit-tested N95, but I would like to suggest that it is an even BETTER deal to not die or become disabled from a COVID infection, so we need to be wearing the absolute best masks available to us. From the data you present, a fit-tested N100 is SIX TIMES safer than a fit-tested N95. That's six times less disability and death, and also doing our part to drive the reproduction number below 1. Of course, some people will legitimately have difficulty breathing through higher pressure drop masks, and so they may find it necessary to downgrade from N100 to N99 or N95.
I am in the process of searching for and buying better fitting n95 masks. Can you recommend any n99/n100 masks that are not the aura style? I find the auras too small (width and height). I am also regarding elastomerics and p100 filters. Still deciding on my first
You should not compare the fine aerosol Aaron is using with bioaerosols (.5-100 microns) that way. But if both pass fit testing, and someone is willing to wear 100 level protection, there's no downside filtration-wise. Of course, as you mentioned, willingness is key.
This had fantastic analyses, will definitely inform my future choices. And as the person in my circles who is the unofficial data translator for others, i appreciate the tables and links. 🎉 Thank you so much! I'm both so grateful, and so frustrated that years into this, I'm getting so much info via researchers and engineers on socials rather than official channels.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I can never thank you enough for synthesizing this information and making it so easily accessible for those not in the know. You've changed the trajectory of the pandemic for me and my loved ones
Thank you for doing what the government has NOT. You know if you look at places that should be doing these kinds of videos, the government, consumer reports, for testing you find ZIP. Being able to test fit is really what people need, and to learn how to wear masks properly. The vast majority of people have totally given up on using masks, unless required for some medical office. I can understand that for young people it is not an issue. but many older people really need to use them. I can tell you 90% plus of the elderly I have seen are maskless in stores, churches and the like. We mask when shopping and at church and often when grandchildren visit, but not always, they are worth the risk of being with in normal ways, otherwise why be here. I use the Kimberly-Clark duckbill style, it is one-use style.
Billions spent on covid and the most basic questions about exposure, survivability by specific age and vaccination status are kept hidden. Government statistics occur in giant, seemingly deliberately convoluted spread sheets. It all smacks of deep moral turpitude in high places, in my estimation. You have to go to the Our World Data for the graphs, who knows if they are accurate.
Thanks again for your efforts. May God bless you for it. God bless!
Hi Aaron, I’m a mechanical engineer who did some work in fluid mechanics using CFD (Ansys and Flotherm) for the purposes of figuring out if electronics would get to hot. I only found your youtube channel in the past couple weeks. I wish I had found it when you started it as I had basically been telling everyone since March 2020 that Covid is airborne (I read some chatter by aerosol scientists in April 2020 maybe one of them was you), air follows the path of least resistance so that mask with the gaps all around it is not going to magically filter all the air you breathe, to wear an N95 to protect themselves but watch out for counterfeits, to crack windows and run exhaust fans when guests are over, and I basically felt like I was banging my head against a wall. I wish I had had your videos to back up what I was saying. I only found your channel because someone gave your name in the comments of a MedCram article. Thanks for sharing the info on Marwa Zaatari; I didn’t know anything about her until todays video!- Kimberly O’Donnell
I have no formal expertise, but that was basically me starting Feb. 2020. The fact that it was airborne wasn't even a secret. The WHO head even made it clear early on. BUT govs were afraid of telling the truth bc how are you going to keep things running via having people risk their lives and the lives of people they live with. Sounds like a conspiracy, and the generous take was preserving supplies for medical professionals (which was admitted to by at least the Surgeon General). But I thought about it more, and talking about handwashing then droplets sounds a lot less scary than it being airborne without enough adequate supplies. What's frustrating is that things could've been much better even by using what existed better. Like opening windows and doors, using non-woven fabric, taping procedural masks, etc from the start. Instead, we got 80+ trucks full of bodies and sirens non-stop just in NYC.
I love all this information but in my area, I don't even know how to get fit tested or if that's even a safe option. The worst part about all of this is you are really on your own to protect yourself and finding information is so difficult. Thank you!
Great video and nice to see you again. Please consider a how to video on improving mask fit at home for N95, KF94 and KN95 mask styles.
My partner works as a court reporter, so they're often in small conference rooms sitting near people who rarely wear masks. We got an elastomeric respirator with P100 filters. It fits great, it's more comfortable than an N95, and it has a button you can press to check your face seal (after six months of use, they've never felt air getting in around the mask). We don't care if an elastomeric respirator is overkill. The peace of mind we get knowing they're as safe as possible around people is worth it.
Hi! If it’s okay with you, could you share which specific elastomeric respirator you got? Either the name or a link to where to buy it would be awesome :)
@@jontrollinski9692 From the description, it's almost certainly one of the 3M secure click respirators. I'm not going to put a link here because that often gets comments auto deleted as spam on RUclips.
The secure click respirators have a one button user seal check option. And the one that I've seen before has a speech diaphragm, a thin membrane that transmits sound well through the mask to help you be understood. I'm not sure if they all have that feature.
@@gerardhughes thank you! :)
@@gerardhughes Thanks for the intel. First time I'm hearing of these & they look promising.
@@gerardhughes are there many secure click respirators? I think i have seen one 3m 8000 series?
I used a P100 for a time. Advantages: better seal and filtration, easy pressure check, easier to don and doff, is reusable. Disadvantages: voice is muffled, feels awkward to wear in public. I now use an Aura N99, less conspicuous, but costlier as I have to replace every week.
How did the P100 provide an easy pressure check?
@@mindstalk 3M 6500 with 6035 filter cartridges. Squeezing on the cartridge stops inward flow of air and can be used for negative pressure fit checks
Oversimplified summary: "it's the fit, silly.". Really interesting and useful analysis. Some of those tables could have benefitted from color (conditional formatting) but I'm a numbers guy so I got it 😉
It would be really helpful if respirator manufacturers were required to print the pressure drop on their filters.
I find the 3M 7093s to be more effort to breath through than I like, and the MSA P100s for the Advantage 900 are similar. But I find the Dentec P100s for their NxMDs to be low enough breathing resistance that it doesn't bother me. So it seems like there could be some P100s that get closer to your ideals for work vs. filtration efficiency calculations, but as consumers we don't have good ways to know which is which. 3M makes "Advanced" more breathable pancake P100 filters but I have no idea how much lower the pressure drop may be :-(
As it is, NIOSH apparently tells mask makers **not** to use their NIOSH test results in marketing, including pressure drop. NIOSH should be doing the opposite and publicly publish the test results for all masks that pass NIOSH certification. They already did something similar earlier in the pandemic for some respirators, publishing respirator assessments and the test data.
I agree plus education on this topic. When it comes to disposables the usable surface area should be taken into account with the testing. Duckbills tend to provide more surface area for example which helps.
Some do provide the info. Sundström claims that their SR510 P3 filter has a pressure drop of 40Pa at 30L/min and 120Pa at 90L/min flow rates. Also GVS Elipse P3 filters are easier to breathe through than some FFP2 respirators in my experience. So the extra cost in pressure drop doesn't seem to be there in the case of some elastomeric masks.
Thank you so much, great information! Agree that not nearly enough resources are being put towards COVID mitigation, especially now
You are the MOST amazing communicator. Incredible. And even more incredible considering you're an engineer :D)
Happy to support the gofundme in gratitude for all of the critically important information you've provided my family over the last couple of years since we found you.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I would think that the face seal for surgical masks is atrocious. Sometimes gaps are actually visible over the nose. I can't believe that medical professionals often use them. Oh well.....
Yeah, the actual filter medium for procedure masks tends to be pretty good but without a brace like Fix The Mask to hold it tightly sealed to one's face that high filtration efficiency becomes moot 😕
The original purpose of surgical masks was to prevent droplets in the surgeon's breath (not aerosols) from infecting *the patient*. They're fine for that. I agree that medical personnel should really be switching to N95 now - it's 2022, folks.
@@RJLalumiere Pretty good if proper ASTM certified masks. There are also "procedure masks" that are basically cloth. Maybe aimed at dentists? One paper reported "surgicals" being bimodal in filtration, either very good or crap.
In my experience that is about all they are wearing. Even dentists. A few doctors were the only medical personnel I ever saw with an N95. I got a vaccine from a pharmacist and during the time I was talking to him his medical mask fell below his nose a dozen times.
@@lockbert99 Depends a lot on where you are. I had some stuff done in Mexico City. Dermatologist and first dentists were in 'procedure' masks, but my second dentist met me in an N95, put a procedure mask over that for the actual dental work (to keep her N95 from getting splashed, maybe?) and had an air purifier running. Also the windows open but everyone had that.
Back in the US, I got my bivalent at Walmart. I forget what the pharmacists wore, but one them dropped hers whenever she moved toward the back.
OTOH, in Mexico City maybe 1/3 of people were wearing KN95s, and in Berkeley I've seen a lot of different respirators, including Aura, Vflex, and plain old cup.
Literally lold at the transition at the end 😂 thanks for an awesome video. Great to hear from you again!
Thank You Aaron Collins! I refer anti-maskers to your videos. Some will always get through. SO I USE HOMEMADE, ANTIVIRAL NOSE/MOUTH/THROAT, SPRAYS just before and after masking and for additional prophylaxis / prevention, some eye protection - at least ordinary glasses, (if not glasses with side shields and antiviral eye drops) and homemade, antiviral, nasal "flush" / mouthwash/gargle / eye wash after the "shared air" experience. Easy to do once a routine is established.
Thank you! I made a donation for Dr. Marwa Zaatari and am sharing the link.
Thank you!!! ❤️
Thanks for your video I have learned a lot because of you. Been really sick with covid for a week now despite having 4 doses of Moderna ( including the omicron booster ). I'm definitely gonna restart wearing the better masks now.
Good information. Thanks Aaron.
One thing I've been wondering is what the relationship between pressure drop and face seal is - i.e., how much does a higher pressure drop filtration media affect how hard it is to get a high fit factor? Intuitively, it would seem like the impact of very small leaks would be magnified by higher resistance in the media, by making filter bypass more likely - especially at higher respiration rates/volumes.
It does, I have been working offline on a test to show that. Using packaging tape to restrict flow on a mask and thus make it harder to breathe. For my test it gets tough since it also reduces the filter area, so just need to figure out how to do it and will likely use the Portacount with N95 Companion
I was wondering if this would be like a two resistors in parallel, leakage with low R ohm and filter media with high R ohm both having the same voltage or in this case pressure drop applied with current through each as flow rate. The higher value of R for filter media, the more of the current flows through smaller R leakage, basically more difficult to get a good fit , thought?
@@coll0412 One idea I had was to use an elastomeric with different filters that have a variety of pressure drops, and intentionally compromise the face seal - a few days of stubble would probably do it. Then see if using higher-resistance P100 media is actually worse under some circumstances than very breathable N95 media on an N95 Portacount test due to increased filter bypass.
I think a lot of mask enthusiasts doggedly pursue perfection at the expense of easier-to-implement meaningful improvements in protection for a larger part of the population, and data on the impact of some of those compromises can only be a net benefit.
One thing to note is that a surgical mask has much more leakage than an N95/KN95/KF94. This can be partially remedied with the knot and tuck method but it still won't be as good as a respirator.
Thanks Aaron!
Hey Aaron; thanks, as always, for wonderfully informative context. The one thing I think we could use more consideration of is the difference in pressure drop between N100 and P100 variants, since it felt strange hearing the high pressure drop being attributed solely to the difference in filter media to provide oil resistance, when the line combines P and N together.
It's a small gripe, and I know that P100 are far more common than N100, but I could see there being some curious people (like me) who would enjoy that distinction.
(But don't worry-message received nonetheless: fit fit fit! As someone who used 3m's P100s on an elastomeric half-mask in the early days before the vaccines, then switched to paper 95s, I definitely think this information should be comforting to those who might otherwise feel they need to get the higher-rated ones at potential cost to their breathability.)
great clear explanation on mask filtration variables
THANK YOU. GREAT VIDEO FOOD FOR THOUGHT
It does put me in a quandry why 3m P100 pancakes and cubes breath better over long duration use compared to disposable N95...
The breathable surface area of an N95 is limited since parts of it usually touch your face, so 2 pancakes can have more surface area.
I use to be in biomedical research so the situation with Dr. Zaatari hit home. Will definitely help out.
Since KF94 also tests for paraffin oil aerosol, willl their filters be considered R95 or P95 quality (ignoring fit for this purpose)
I was also wondering about KF94/FFP2 masks, which do get tested with oil droplets. Since Dr. Susan Oliver mentioned them, now I also want to know the specs of the Australian P1 standard.
Prob closer to R
The filter loading is lower for FFP2/KF94's so it's more like the equivalent of a R95.
Brilliant ❤
The big issue I see with this argument is an elastomeric p100 has significantly lower total inward leakage than any n95, especially under movement. So when you upgrade filtration you’re also upgrading fit. This is especially true when compared to ear loop KF/KN masks which have a design assumption of even higher leakage.
1) Comparing elastomeric P100 to non-elastomeric N95 is apples-to-oranges, 2) you can get N95 filters for elastomerics and benefit from the better breathability as mentioned in the video, 3) this video is not about elastomerics, despite one visually appearing at the start of the video
They can in theory, but a fit test is still required to know for sure. To me elastomerics are more about cost and seal comfort. They on average do better but are not 10x better or anything
The half mask was supposed to be like the skull from Hamlet :)
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763841
twitter.com/ToshiAkima/status/1561708728361308160
@@coll0412 For sure. At minimum though in the absence of equipment a positive pressure check is a LOT easier to execute on most elastomerics. Whenever you get your universal mask done that would be great ;)
I breathe better using a elastomeric p100 mask than an n95 mask. Because it has a vent. Also, the fit is better as I'm never sure if I've got the metal nose strip molded correctly with n95's. Negative pressure tests with a elastomeric are really easy also.
@@robertgaines9286 None of the issues you describe are P100 vs. N95 issues. What you are describing in the first is the difference between valved and unvalved respirators, both of which are available in P100 or N95 versions. Nose strips are also different from mask to mask rather than being a P100 vs. N95 issue. And Elastomerics can take different filters, including N95 and P100, so user seal checks are no a "P100" feature.
How about eye transmission?
Aaron is back with another mask video! P100 sounds like a Tesla
FYI - They're running a pre-roll ad before this video that shows spitting or vomiting which it very disgusting and it's probably significantly reducing your views. I don't know if you have any way exclude specific ads, but if you do I suggest you ax that one.
Is there a time limit for those assumptions? How long is someone in a room with those 8 people?
He said an hour, a bit later.
I am no longer supporting twitter (I am now on mastodon) due to fascist and frankly neo nazi tweets from the owner of that business, so I have missed your posts. I check here periodically to see if there is anything new, and lo and behold there was this video and another which I will check out in a minute. This is exactly the question I have had as a teacher, especially with the new variant XBB15. I think based on this, I will stick to the n95 I am currently using (Blox surgical duck bill) and continue to tape it to my face to ensure fit. Thank you again for all you do!
Hi Aaron, Amazing video so far. I'm just at10:37 your speaking about taping cloth masks to your face and you say 37 probability but your chart says 27. Which is it? thanks will keep watching now
27%, just a mistake on my part.
I haven't been keeping up with your videos lately and wonder why kn94's in this analysis video. That would be cool to see vs n95. Are n95's the recommendation these days over kn94's?
If I get my N95 mask wet (water),is it no longer effective? I thought the charge would be effected
@@inuaineko if it's gets damp from light rain or an unfortunate sneeze its totally fine. However if you dunk it in water it's best to just toss that one
The FLTR KN95 masks are sold out in Costco. I emailed them but they never told me if they will EVER be in stock again.
Lots of other good KN95's out there if that is the format you like. Powecom, BNX, Armburst, ect ect
You should try Masklabs or Botn KF94. They are very comfortable. FLIR KN95 did not perform that well in Aaron's tests if I remember correctly.
@@postaldaytrader Thank you Rick for your suggestions. Just to be clear, you're not affiliated with either of the two companies you mentioned. Correct?
FLTR KN95 filters well in Aaron's test. But I agree with him that the nose wire doesn't seal very well.
What I do is that I put sticky nose wire on every mask.
I'm not sure if the cost if worth it. I may use 3M VFlex instead....
I'm not affiliated with them. I've used both of these masks and found them more comfortable than any KN95 I've ever used.
@@postaldaytrader Good to hear. I followed your advice to look at these 2 brands. The per mask cost is $2.5 or $1.5 and 3M Vflex is 70 cents. I may stick with 3M Vflex. Thank you for your suggestions again!
me when i ask rijin aimbot what it wants to do
I would love if you would comment on Dr John Campbell's recent video claiming masks do not work based on a lit review. I believe that this is objectively wrong given what we clearly know about masks.
The good news is Chochrane themselves released a statement, which says "Many commentators have claimed that a recently-updated Cochrane Review shows that 'masks don't work', which is an inaccurate and misleading interpretation. ", so even they recognize the B.S. around this study
www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review
17:31 😂😂 touche
Your risk assessment model talks about number of people in the conference room, one infected with Covid not wearing a mask, but it’s not clear how long you’re spending in the room. That makes a difference, doesn’t it?
It does and it's assumed to be one hour. Did I forget to mention that?
@@coll0412 I tried to find that by looking back through the transcript and didn’t come across it. Maybe I just missed it
@@BSerrell4 A-A-RON didn't mention it at the beginning of his analysis, but did bring it up around the 12:40 mark.
This is a wonderful video, and you are doing a true service to humanity. Never forget that! ❤
I would like to suggest one correction: it is always desirable for someone to wear a mask with higher filitration, provided that they have addressed fit-testing first, as you recommend. The infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2 is increasing with time. The masking habits people develop today will have decreasing effectiveness in the future. It is important that everybody wear the highest quality mask they can afford at all times when around non-household members. You mention it being "a good deal" to wear a fit-tested N95, but I would like to suggest that it is an even BETTER deal to not die or become disabled from a COVID infection, so we need to be wearing the absolute best masks available to us. From the data you present, a fit-tested N100 is SIX TIMES safer than a fit-tested N95. That's six times less disability and death, and also doing our part to drive the reproduction number below 1. Of course, some people will legitimately have difficulty breathing through higher pressure drop masks, and so they may find it necessary to downgrade from N100 to N99 or N95.
I am in the process of searching for and buying better fitting n95 masks. Can you recommend any n99/n100 masks that are not the aura style? I find the auras too small (width and height).
I am also regarding elastomerics and p100 filters. Still deciding on my first
You should not compare the fine aerosol Aaron is using with bioaerosols (.5-100 microns) that way. But if both pass fit testing, and someone is willing to wear 100 level protection, there's no downside filtration-wise. Of course, as you mentioned, willingness is key.
Did this guy ever get Covid ?
Nope! Still avoiding it using simple risk reduction techniques like wearing a mask in indoor spaces.
This had fantastic analyses, will definitely inform my future choices. And as the person in my circles who is the unofficial data translator for others, i appreciate the tables and links. 🎉 Thank you so much! I'm both so grateful, and so frustrated that years into this, I'm getting so much info via researchers and engineers on socials rather than official channels.