Has anyone ever gotten Covid while wearing a KN95 mask?

[Peregrine Took]

Thank you.

[TheRealNorth]

1. I suspect if people wore them wrong or they were not fitting well...

And were in Covid cloud (ie. Like a Trump rally) for several hours, they could still get Covid.

And there is always the possibility of a bad mask.

[Eyeball_Kid]

2. Yes.

The kn95 significantly REDUCES the probability of an infection to a very low likelihood.

There are masks for sale that the manufacturer claims does better than the kn95. Those masks have a third layer of material between the two outer layers that is positively charged, and attracts and traps the negatively charged Covid virus. I don't have references to the testing procedure and the research, but it's a great concept at a minimum.

[Ms. Toad]

16. Cloth masks with a layer of different material work as well a N95.

Last edited Mon Jan 2, 2023, 05:09 PM - Edit history (1)

Same with two layers of 600 TPI cotton.

There are some benefits, and also detriments.

N95 works electrostatically (like the three layer cloth masks). Because they work electrostatically, they breathe more easily. But using the layers of cloth is a harder breathe than an N95. (Study of relative effectiveness of various masks - comparisons are in Table 1).

In my personal experience, from easiest to breathe to hardest: N95, three layer (loose weave,), 600 TPI weave cotton.

The amount of glasses fogging is the reverse. No matter how tight the nose wire, or how carefully I breathe, an N95 still occasionally dogs my glasses.

Cloth masks (either variety) are easier to get a tight fit, since they can be customized to your face shape.

And cloth masks are reusable, so it takes longer for them to end up in a landfill.

I'm currently wearing the three layer (electrostatic) masks, since I found a place selling them for a nickel a mask. Early in the pandemic (before omicron), I wore two layer (some, but not all, 600 TPI). When omicron (more contagious) arrived I switched to N95.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Agreed!

A misunderstood aspect of filtration is that cloth masks are far inferior because the pore size of very large. After all, we can see light through it, right?
But even that lighted is blocked & diffracted.
Fibers of cloth and paper are not monolithic. There are tears & frays at the unifiber level which do little to alter airflow, but create a condition where there are statistically very few direct flow paths.
Ultra high filtration masks use a specialized weave to design the "low direct flow path" condition. But, they exist in any cloth or paper masks to a substantial degree.
Using 2 different materials is adding another type of fraying or tearing, so synergistically, it more than doubles the surface contact.
Finally, since we know that the vast majority of viral load comes from virus contaminated exhalation. What we need to filter isn't necessarily the size of a virus, but might be 1,000 or 10,000 times bigger.
I don't think the ty0ical person needs to worry about what kind of mask. Just wear some type of mask.

[KTinaY2008]

3. I did.

The place I assume I was infected (because it was the only place I had gone in weeks) was at my ENT office when I went for my hearing test. I'm not sure if the person ahead of me in the hearing test booth had it or what. I was wearing a KN95 mask. I still believe they work more than they don't. Since I've started wearing mask, I've only been sick 3 times with a contiguous illness. Before that, I'd get sick multiple times a year. (I'm immune compromised due to medications to treat my rheumatoid arthritis.)

[Ocelot II]

4. It's impossible to answer that question, unless a person has worn one all the time,

night and day, and never took it off for the entire duration of the pandemic. The only thing we can look at is statistical probability of a person getting covid if they wear a KN95 mask when around other people. According to the CDC, as of last February, "in indoor public settings, surgical masks reduce the chances of testing positive by 66 percent, the CDC estimated. Top-of-the-line N95 and KN95 masks, the tightfitting face coverings often worn by health-care workers, cut the odds of infection by 83 percent, the health agency said." https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/02/04/covid-mask-effective-n95/ Since the answer isn't 100%, we can assume that there have been some people who got covid despite wearing masks, but there are other factors as well, like (obviously) vaccination, frequency of exposure to infected people, etc.

[BigmanPigman]

5. Most likely

some people who mask do get Covid since masks aren't 100% effective. However, I will continue to wear my very tight (I made it even tighter for the best fit) N95. I HATE getting sick but get sick very easily when exposed to any germs. My doctor even confirmed my apprehension about going into health care facilities at all. He didn't push for an unnecessary test due to my desire to stay Covid-free and told me I wasn't being paranoid but wise.

Now, if you look at Japan you will see they are experiencing their second highest Covid wave and they mask all the time, even before Covid. I think it has to do with the inferior surgical masks that I see so many people wearing. I don't know why N95 masks aren't common.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/japan/

[Quakerfriend]

6. I have not. I only wear KN95s. n/t

[Peregrine Took]

7. Is there a group (Facebook or?) of people who have not yet had Covid so we can all communicate

and share strategies and just hang out?

Thanks!

[demosincebirth]

8. You can only judge that if you wore it 24 hours a day every day

[broiles]

9. I wore one while working closely with a trainer.

He came down with covid the next day, but I was fine.

[Liberal In Texas]

18. I wore an N95 in an exam room with my primary care person who was masked. Next day I was informed

that she tested positive and I needed to quarantine. I never got it.

I'm sure nothing in this life is fool proof. Medical things can vary widely from person to person.

But if the chances are better to not get it, I'll wear one.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Reasons to wear masks

Link to tweet

[Samrob]

11. Unprovable. Unless one never removes the mask and still gets COVID. nt

[dembotoz]

12. reduce not eliminate risk

when covid went nuts, some hospital workers still got covid and they generally were masked up.

don't count those who did get infected, count those who did not.

[48656c6c6f20]

13. Hang on, about to ask 8 billion people. May take a few seconds.

Brb

[Celerity]

14. Yes. Of course.

You're welcome.

[Act_of_Reparation]

15. Probably.

[liberal_mama]

17. Some KN95 masks are bad quality and/or have a poor fit. Make sure you get good ones!

If you have some gaps on the sides, that could let the virus in.

Also, mask wearing has to be consistent. I've seen people say that they wore a KN95 mask everywhere indoors, except when they worked out at the gym or went to a restaurant or party. Sure, wearing it most of the time does cut back on potential exposures, but if you take it off occasionally in some situations, you can't blame the mask if you get infected.

[Grins]

20. Not the point of masking.

Masking was to reduce the chance of the masked person, unknowingly affected, of passing the virus, not to prevent getting affected.

[scarletlib]

21. No. Not yet.