1/ To get maximum protection from #covid19, you need great filtration AND fit.

If your mask doesn’t fit well, you'll breathe in unfiltered air from leaks around your mask.

That could make the difference between 60-70% effective filtration and 95%+

A 🧵 on getting a good fit. 2/ I'm assuming you are wearing one of the #bettermasks, such as an #N95, N99, N100, KF94, FFP2, FFP3, non-fake KN95, etc and that you're happy with it.

(If yours doesn't fit well or you don't have one of these high-performance masks yet, I get to that below.)

Need one of the #N95 #bettermasks right away? Like today because someone in your home is infected. Or maybe you need to go to work and you think you need better protection NOW.

They are surprisingly hard to get. Here's how to get one.

My top choice is @HomeDepot. They appear to have the best in-stock selection including the widely-praised Aura 9205+.

Another plus for Home Depot is if you don't have a car, they offer same-day delivery for $8.99.

It's not hard and there is a federal role. Here's the plan.

1. Approve more rapid tests for #covid19. Subsidize and distribute them widely in drugstores and supermarkets for $1 each.

2. Subsidize or give away N95 masks. CDC should issue guidance urging use of #BetterMasks.

https://twitter.com/DefiantLs/status/1475550123321171970

Again, distribute widely at drugstores and supermarkets. Make them cheap, a 3-pack for $1.

3. Approve the Corsi-Rosenthal box for schools as safe and effective. Make funds available to schools for the boxes and portable HEPA filtration machines.

#COVID19 rapid test success story.👏👏👏

My daughter's roommate said her allergies were flaring up. All 3 double vaxxed. She gave her a rapid test. POSITIVE result. Uh oh. @michaelmina_lab

They isolated her; she canceled the x-country flight scheduled for the next day.
1/n The test allowed them to take immediate action to prevent spread at home.

Plus protect others on the long flight she didn't take.

Plus the many people she would visit while infectious.

8 days later, my daughter and her roommate are still testing negative. 👍👍👍2/n

Important🧵 on the exponential power of #bettermasks against #COVID19 and #Delta -- please read & retweet.

Use of #Bettermasks causes infection risk to fall exponentially by the power of two.

#Bettermasks put the power of exponential risk reduction on our side. That's how the virus spreads -- exponentially.

That's why we need exponential powers on our side, especially against #Delta, which is 2X more infectious.

1/ I tweeted earlier on the NIOSH report testing foreign masks. More warning bells about #KN95 masks. Many fakes. @AbraarKaran @linseymarr
@zeynep @CorsIAQ 2/ "NIOSH has been informed that many legitimate manufacturers in China have been counterfeited. In such cases, NIOSH has no way of verifying which products are counterfeit and which are authentic.

1/ On February 2, 2021 the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) published assessments for many foreign made masks, including KN95s. Some minimum #KN95 filtration results were < 26%! But others had >95%. @AbraarKaran @linseymarr @zeynep @CorsIAQ 2/ Before we get to the results at tweet 7, you should read the introduction. Excerpts: @nataliexdean

"[T]en respirators were submitted for evaluation. The samples were tested using a modified version of NIOSH Standard Test Procedure...

This new mask to prevent #COVID19 is on the market. If you need solid comfortable protection, it seems like a solid product. I've not bought one yet. They are going for NIOSH approval as a respirator and I'll think they'll get it.
openstandardindustries.com I looked at their test results. It seems like the best you can get.

Watch this video to learn more about the story of how it came into being.

Great article by @zeynep and @jeremyphoward. To answer the question they get asked what and "where to buy proper masks," below is a thread. I have no financial interest in these recommendations. My family uses this near N95 solution that costs 17-60 cents/day.

https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1349381087752019972

I'll tell you what to do and then I'll explain why and provide the evidence.

You need a good quality surgical mask plus a mask fitter like the one made by @FixTheMask.

A disposable face mask made out of meltblown polypropylene layer that passes the candle test is likely good.

1/ Must read new preprint: Strategies to minimize #SARSCoV2 #COVIDisAirborne transmission -- combined impacts of ventilation and mask effective filtration efficiency. medrxiv.org/content/10.110…

Extensive set up of manikins and analysis of indoor classroom. 2/ Key take away @zeynep @ScottGottliebMD @DrTomFrieden @EricTopol @DrEricDing @ASlavitt: we can all upgrade our masks cheaply. Conditional indoor infection probabilities as low as <0.0001 (0.01%) per hour might be reached with the use of surgical masks and mask fitters alone.

@linseymarr @MonicaGandhi9 I have to say this is really frustrating to read this. People are still scrambling to figure out mask hacks. STOP!😀

The BEST and CHEAPEST protection for the average person is a Level 2 or 3 certified surgical mask with the @FixTheMask brace. It's better than an N95 @linseymarr @MonicaGandhi9 @FixTheMask for most people because the fit is a no brainer. And it is MUCH more comfortable than all the hacks.

Data:
fixthemask.medium.com/fix-the-mask-d…

1/25 @Gladwell did a brilliant interview podcast with @michaelmina_lab. One of the questions @Gladwell asked is why don’t we have the #dailyrapidtest already to fight #covid? The answer is the FDA. Here is a lightly edited transcript of that part of the podcast. 2/ The rapid tests for #covid look like a pregnancy test, and they work like a pregnancy test actually. It's a little piece of paper, generally speaking.