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Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
@michael_hoerger
Jul 19, 2022 • 12 tweets • 9 min read • Read on X
Top 10 tips everyone should know about wearing #N95 & #elastomeric masks.

What did I miss?

THREAD! Image
Tip #1: Masks buy time. Context matters too: Ventilation (HVAC/outdoor air), filtration (HEPA), & ⬇️ people buy more time.

The longer you’ll be someplace or the worse the context, the better the mask you’ll need.

In a “typical” setting, you might expect this (per @akm5376): Image
Tip #2: If you’re going to be someplace a long time (home, office, hospital, wedding), open windows, add #HEPA, turn HVAC from ‘auto’ to ‘on' & do testing.

BOOM, you just improved your mask. Better context = less work for the mask.

Tip #3: These are my three fav N95s. The Aegle & 3M Aura are good for most adult size faces. The Vflex is good for larger faces. I think 80-90% would be happy with the Aura.

What’s your fav #N95 and why?

Tip #4: Have a unique concern? There’s an N95 for you. Just ask.

For example, a lot of people like the Airgami if they have COPD or other breathing challenges.

The Readimask is good for MRIs, haircuts, or dental visits.
Image
Tip #5: Do a quick #N95 seal check each time. Fit the nose piece using both hands. Exhale a deep breath to check for obvious leaks.

Read the instructions that came w/them, e.g., the 3M Aura or Vflex should be pulled back taut under the chin, not loose.

cleanaircrew.org/masks/#How_to_…
Tip #6: At low cost, you can fit-test an N95.

Buy a nebulizer & sweet (called FT-31) or bitter (FT-32) fit testing solution. The nebulizer vaporizes the solution. If you can taste it, your mask has gaps.



Tip #7: N95s are great, but for a better fit, try an “#elastomeric.”

That’s just a reusable elastic-band type mask.

Twitter search “elastomeric” for recs & sizing. Good ones: GVS models ($), @DentecSafety ComfortAir ($), @flo_mask ($$, adult & kid’s size), & Envo mask ($$) Image
Tip #8: Always buy directly from the manufacturer, a nonprofit like @projectn95, or a verified sourced. For example, Amazon sells a ton of fakes, but GVS is verified to sell authentically via Amazon. Do your homework.

Any questions on where to buy?

projectn95.org
Tip #9: Share the wealth. You can give away N95s to your family, friends, co-workers, patients, clinicians, & community.

Share these tips too. RT 🔁or post these tips on legacy platforms like Facebook Image
Tip #10: Follow for more N95 and elastomeric tips…
@LazarusLong13 @amandalhu @Amal4Solutions @sri_srikrishna @akm5376 @projectn95 @NgoTheWorld @ghhughes @denise_dewald @crosscutanne @masknerd

Who else?
FYI, I have no COIs, including no investment in any company listed. I’m a multidisciplinary scientist. My goal is to pass along advice from experts in a way that’s more relatable to communities.

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More from @michael_hoerger

Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
May 20
PMC COVlD Report, May 19, 2025 (U.S.)

In this national "lull" in transmission, we are seeing...
🔥A quarter-million daily infections
🔥90-360k Long COVlD cases from the week's infections
🔥600-1,100 deaths from the week's infections
🔥LA, SD, NE, & GU in high transmission10 waves of C19
Heat map, summarized in post
Current Levels for May 19, 2025 % of the Population Infectious 0.5% (1 in 185) New Daily Infections 259000 New Weekly Infections 1813000 Resulting Weekly Long COVID Cases 91,000 to 363,000 Resulting Weekly Excess Deaths 600 to 1,100 Monthly Forecast Average % of the Population Infectious 0.8% (1 in 129) Average New Daily Infections 371566.6667 New Infections During the Next Month 11147000 Resulting Monthly Long COVID Cases 557,000 to 2,229,000 Resulting Monthly Excess Deaths 4,000 to 6,600 Running Totals Infections Nationwide in 2025 66986000 Average Number of I...
Year-over-year graph, currently closely tracking the median, Y4, and Y5
Full report: pmc19.com/data
PMC COVlD updates are also posted periodically on Plip Plop:

tiktok.com/@michael_hoerg…
Read 6 tweets
Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
May 15
1) Good luck getting any new federal research to support #LongCOVID until "covid" is dropped from the dirty words that get grant applications triaged to the trash bin.

You know which senator to call.

I just did, and got a staffer instead of voicemail.Lengthy list of words that get federal grants triaged to the trash bin, unfunded after favorable review, or defunded if already in progress. Includes "Covid-19," and no, it's not a matter of simply restating as "SARS2" or "The Rona." It might make it one step further in the review process, but this gets checked closed, and it will get canned. Hundreds of hours of work, flushed down the toilet. And that's the point.
2) I told the staffer that #LongCOVID is affecting millions and that no research will be funded to address this while "covid" remains on the banned word list.

I asked if they wanted to hear more. He did...

Here's the word list, btw
pen.org/banned-words-l…
3) I told them about my family member who was a strong Special Forces veteran, got covid once, & according to their neurologist, it triggered #LongCOVID in the form of Dementia w/Lewy Bodies.

DLB is one of the worst conditions imaginable. After a 2yr battle, they died in 2024.
Read 5 tweets
Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
May 3
30 million excess deaths attributable to COVID is a tremendous underestimate because most analyses insufficiently account for mortality displacement.

In the U.S., it's about 50% worse than people realize.
Mortality displacement or "harvesting" is the idea that so many people died of COVID in the early pandemic that we should actually expect to see *fewer* deaths today if COVID were "over."
In fact, we see similar or slightly higher mortality relative to pre-pandemic levels. Despite the millions of people that have died, the mortality faucet keeps running strong. It should have slowed.
Read 9 tweets
Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
Apr 22
🧵1 of 8 | PMC Dashboard, April 21, 2025 (U.S.)

🌤️Only 1 in 5 days of the pandemic have seen transmission as low as today
🌤️1 in 196 actively infectious
⚡️BUT still 1.7 million weekly infections, resulting in >85,000 LC cases and up to 1,000 deaths

I'll walk you through it... Current Levels for Apr 21, 2025 % of the Population Infectious 0.5% (1 in 196) New Daily Infections 244000 New Weekly Infections 1708000 Resulting Weekly Long COVID Cases 85,000 to 342,000 Resulting Weekly Excess Deaths 600 to 1,000 Monthly Forecast Average % of the Population Infectious 0.7% (1 in 147) Average New Daily Infections 324800 New Infections During the Next Month 9744000 Resulting Monthly Long COVID Cases 487,000 to 1,949,000 Resulting Monthly Excess Deaths 3,500 to 5,800 Running Totals Infections Nationwide in 2025 62331000 Average Number of Infecti...
🧵2 of 8 | PMC Dashboard, April 21, 2025 (U.S.)

We're in the 6th year. See the small red line, bottom left. Notice how closely it tracks the median (gray), year 4 (yellow), & year 5 (orange).

Acknowledging caveats, those are plausible gist-level scenarios for months ahead. year over year graph, summarized in post
🧵3 of 8 | PMC Dashboard, April 21, 2025 (U.S.)

Expect steady transmission bouncing up and down around the current national lull-level estimate the next several weeks. 200-350k daily infections nationally.

This is about as low as lulls bottom out anymore. Past 12 months and forecast, summarized in post
Read 8 tweets
Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
Apr 14
🧵1/5 | PMC Dashboard, Apr1il 14, 2025 (U.S.)

🔹2.2 million weekly infections
🔹1 in 149 actively infectious
🔹>100,000 LC cases resulting from the week's infections
🔹>800 deaths resulting from the week's infections
🔹"Lull" transmission steady/slightly decliningCurrent Levels for Apr 14, 2025 % of the Population Infectious 0.7% (1 in 149) New Daily Infections 320000 New Weekly Infections 2240000 Resulting Weekly Long COVID Cases 112,000 to 448,000 Resulting Weekly Excess Deaths 800 to 1,300 Monthly Forecast Average % of the Population Infectious 0.7% (1 in 138) Average New Daily Infections 345366.6667 New Infections During the Next Month 10361000 Resulting Monthly Long COVID Cases 518,000 to 2,072,000 Resulting Monthly Excess Deaths 3,700 to 6,200 Running Totals Infections Nationwide in 2025 60891000 Average Number of ...
🧵2/5 | PMC Dashboard, Apr1il 14, 2025 (U.S.)

Year-over-year transmission (red line, lower left) is tracking the median (grey), year 4 (yellow), and year 5 (orange) closely.

If that trend continues, expect steady yet bumpy transmission the next couple months, until June/July.line graphs, described in tweet
🧵3/5 | PMC Dashboard, Apr1il 14, 2025 (U.S.)

The heat map shows only 4 states in the CDC 'high' level and none in the 'very' high level.

Check local data. Those timing activities to lulls may see a clear opportunity.heat map, described in tweet
Read 6 tweets
Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA Profile picture
Apr 9
The NIH Clinical Center drops universal masking after 5 months of protecting patients, family, & staff.

Wastewater-derived estimates indicate 2.79 million Americans are getting Covid per week AND top actuaries suggest an American dies of Covid every 3 minutes.

🧵1/5 Masks are optional beginning April 11. Staff will mask on request.
These are the current wastewater-derived estimates of transmission.

2.79 million Covid infections/week in the U.S. in the current high "lull."
🧵2/5
This thread with video explains in exquisite detail how every 3 minutes in 2025 an American dies of Covid.

🧵3/5
Read 5 tweets

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