Lazarus Long Profile picture
Nov 19, 2021 17 tweets 7 min read Read on X
I never want to hear about valveless respirators again.

H/T @PPEtoheros.



Delta said they weren't accepting them.

And THEN the CDC came out against them.

Despite having 624 valved respirators recommended for HCW's on their website. salon.com/2020/08/22/cdc…

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@Delta @AssistDelta - please get your lobbyists to get the @CDCgov @CDCDirector to undo their RIDICULOUS valved respirator stance.

You broke this. You fix it.
Image
Image
3M says, "Nope, valved respirators are not a problem." Image
NIOSH says, "Nope, valved respirators are not a problem." Image
OSHA says, "Nope, valved respirators are not a problem." Image
CDC says "Nope, not a problem," indirectly, by recommending 624 valved respirators in their database for AIRBORNE disease protection. Image
A wet mask is actually a more permeable mask, and less comfortable. Image
Thank you @FredClarkson and Jonathan Hutson for writing this story!
Someone will reply with this study:


@NIST - NIOSH does not use schlieren imaging as part of its testing for a reason.

Please have Staymates stop with this misinformation - and you stop as well.



pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33244212/
nist.gov/people/matthew…
nist.gov/news-events/ne…
Source control for valved respirators is equivalent to surgical masks.

Per the NIOSH.

healthleadersmedia.com/covid-19/niosh…
Boarding planes with elastomeric respirators is intertwined with this valved thread.

Here is the policy, 1st pic👇


The key sentence:
"Masks containing slits, exhalation valves, or punctures"

The order itself, 2nd pic👇
cdc.gov/quarantine/mas…
cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf…

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A GVS - the valveless GVS and valved look identical.

What to do to fly safe?

You are not going to get a chance to argue. Grumpy TSA & gate agents? Not worth the no-fly list.

Some strategies.

1️⃣ A valveless elastomeric respirator w/excellent protection that looks like a mask.

I just bought 4, including 1 for Mom - haven't
got it yet, but have done my usual ridiculous amount of research.

- these last for months, so I'd get black.

2️⃣ Already have an elasto? Wear a surgical mask over it.

📌Always bring a fold flat respirator with no valve tucked into your carry-on,prescientx.com/nano-mask
whether you do 1 or 2.

I like these:



Tested very well with masknerd.

And @projectn95 is guaranteed authentic.

Another winner:
@armbrust_usa's


✅ Great breathability.
✅ Individually wrapped - great for traveling.shop.projectn95.org/demetech-dtn95…
armbrustusa.com/products/usa-m…

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More from @LazarusLong13

Dec 21, 2025
Oh, we are cooked. Just cooked.

"Brain Mitochondrial dysfunction, known for ~20 years is finally recognized as a central upstream driver of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), not just a downstream effect."

And SARS2's targeting of mitochondria is well-known.

Even in the brain.
/1 We identified dysregulation of mitochondrial and synaptic pathways in deep-layer excitatory neurons and upregulation of neuroinflammation in glia, consistent across both mRNA and protein. Remarkably, these alterations overlapped substantially with changes in age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Our work, combining multiple experimental and analytical methods, demonstrates the brain-wide impact of severe acute/subacute COVID-19, involving both cortical and subcortical regions, shedding light on potential therapeutic targets within pat...
@LauraMiers, in case you don't have it.

nature.com/articles/s4358…
@LauraMiers This is yet another reason why I N95.

Read 6 tweets
Dec 17, 2025
@neiljshaw - — a few tips on your excellent article from a clean air advocate

"Consider Wearing a Mask" ?

No, "It is incredibly important to wear a well-fitting mask such as a N95, KN95, or KF94, for the best protection."

You two are doing Image
public health with this article.

Public health is best done with simple clear instructions.

No:
"These masks act as a barrier, reducing the spread of respiratory droplets when people talk, sneeze or cough."

Yes:
"These masks act as a HEPA air cleaner for the face,
cleaning the air of respiratory aerosols when people breathe, talk, sneeze or cough."

The barrier carries the idea of an immovable wall. Unable to be penetrated by things like oxygen and CO2 - which feeds antimaskers.

As an who debunks antimaskers, it is
Read 9 tweets
Dec 11, 2025
As an anonymous clean air advocate, I've put a bit of thought into how to present, well, my expertise.

If someone were to say, "How do I know you know what you are talking about? Are you a doctor, or a virologist?"

To which, I would say...."No, but that's a good thing.
/1
I have focused on aerosol and masking science. Because it is those fields that give us the most information on how airborne particles, aerosols, get from Person A to Person B.

My expertise is derived from the great studies of Dr. Lindsay Marr, MacArthur recipient. Dr. Prather,
double National Academy member, Dr Milton, inventor of the Gesundheit, aerosol scientist and medical doctor; Dr Coleman whose group found that duckbill N95s captured 98% of emitted respiratory aerosols, and more excellent individual aerosol scientists.
Read 17 tweets
Nov 22, 2025
I am not a fan of nasal sprays to stop The 'Vid, but I respect you having it as a layer in the Swiss cheese package.

But, some people have said they got bloody noses.

While at the ER yesterday, I picked up a pretty good at home technique. Let our $1,000 lay-out
Image
save you money.

Use tongue depressors to make a nose pinch clamp.

Leave it on for 30 minutes. Still a problem? Two sprays of Afrin, and re-apply nose pinch clamp. Wait 30 minutes.

Still a problem? Cotton balls sprayed with Afrin, clamp, 30 minutes

aliem.com/trick-of-trade…Image
Image
Image
Afrin- in generic form is $3.32 at Walmart.

Also, put a ice compress at the back of the neck, while doing the above.

"Cooling the nape of the neck is said to induce reflex constriction of the mucosal vessels of the nose"

✅ I agree with the authors.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1568881/Image
Image
Read 6 tweets
Nov 13, 2025
A study demonstrated 100% PERFECT protection against SARS2 w/ readily available KF94s

✅ 181 HCWs
✅ 1 got SARS2 antibodies, but an epi investigation -> the infection happened elsewhere.
😡 The final checkpoint was March 2021. N95s only became freely available 1 month later
/1 FDA: N95 masks, now plentiful, should no longer be reused  By MARTHA MENDOZA and JULIET LINDERMAN  (Associated Press)  April 23, 2021 12:44 p.m.  Medical providers may soon return to using one medical N95 mask per patient, a practice that was suspended during the pandemic due to deadly supply shortages
What is described in the tweets
in the USA.

Korean study:
jkms.org/DOIx.php?id=10…

This is in comparison to a Swiss study during the same rough time-frame. A study which did NOT show the same excellent results, but dismal results. Why?

The Swiss had the same sort of fit testing,

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35123572/ Results: We enrolled 3259 participants from nine healthcare institutions, whereof 716 (22%) preferentially used FFP2. Among these, 81/716 (11%) reported a SARS-CoV-2-positive swab, compared to 352/2543 (14%) surgical mask users; seroconversion was documented in 85/656 (13%) FFP2 and 426/2255 (19%) surgical mask users. Adjusted for baseline characteristics, COVID-19 exposure, and risk behaviour, FFP2 use was non-significantly associated with decreased risk for SARS-CoV-2-positive swab (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.8, 95% CI 0.6-1.0) and seroconversion (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.7, 95% CI ...
PPE monitoring.

What was the big difference?

Are N95s/FFP2s inferior to KF94s?

No, it was supply - and other reasons.
Read 10 tweets
Nov 5, 2025
@tomhanks has just been savaged by people screaming masks don't work.

All hospitals have fiduciary responsibilities to not waste money.

Here is a light sampling of hospitals mandating masks because they work.

Proving that not only do masks work, but mask mandates work.

Thread
Health PEI
Start/End: October 14, 2025 , How many hospitals: 7, employee count: 4,967,

Public hospital,

City: Various (e.g., Charlottetown, Summerside), Province: Prince Edward Island, Country: Canada, full url: princeedwardisland.ca/en/news/health…
Horizon Health Network
Start/End: September 3, 2025 How many hospitals: 12, employee count: 15,000, public or private:

Public hospital.

City: Various (e.g., Saint John, Fredericton),
Province: New Brunswick,
Country: Canada horizonnb.ca/coronavirus-co…
Read 62 tweets

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