AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Copper mask3/9/2023 This optimism is tempered by comments from medical experts suggesting such claims are over-inflated and may imbibe the wearer with a false sense of protection 17. The majority of companies selling so-called antimicrobial masks add disclaimers to their products, such as “This product makes no claims that it will cure or prevent Corona Virus, Influenza, or Covid-19 16.” In a recent NBC news story, Jeffrey Keane, CEO of Noble Biomaterials, claimed that antimicrobial masks help reduce the risk of virus transmission by eliminating cross contamination from fabric to skin 17. Some companies, such as Sonovia Ltd., claim to have scientific testing that proves their mask-impregnated with zinc oxide nanoparticles-is over 90% effective at killing SARS-CoV-2, even after 100 washings 15. There are now hundreds of retailers selling antimicrobial cloth face masks across the internet from biomedical fiber companies to clothing retailers to mattress makers. This has perhaps fueled the commercialization of masks with “enhanced” features, such as antimicrobial properties. ![]() At publication, the current CDC recommendation is that even vaccinated individuals should wear masks indoors when the risk of transmission is high or substantial, including in schools 14. On 27 July 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reversed its recommendations, which previously (with guidance issued on ) exempted vaccinated individuals from mask-wearing in public, in light of the highly contagious Delta variant. However the increased use of cloth face masks by the US population (from roughly 62% of people in April to 76% in May, 2020) is strongly attributed to the belief that mask-wearing reduces one’s own risk of infection 13. Global health guidelines to wear a cloth face covering were (initially) motivated by limiting community spread 11, especially by asymptomatic infected persons 12. As the US death toll from COVID-19 mounts, with cases surging above 36.5 million (as of 12 August 2021), mask-wearing was recently called one’s “civic duty, a small sacrifice reliant on a highly effective low-tech solution that can help turn the tide favorably in national and global efforts against COVID-19 8.” While the precise level of effectiveness of cloth face masks varies by fabric, number of layers, and fit, fabric masks may filter out greater than 95% of the virus present in aerosols > 5 µm 9, with tight-weave fabric blends capable of removing up to 80% of particles smaller than 300 nm in size 10. A new corpus overwhelming agrees that even cloth face masks provide some protection against infection of the wearer and effectively reduce community spread of SARS-CoV-2 5, 6, 7. ![]() ![]() Decades of research demonstrate the effectiveness of medical-grade surgical and N-95 masks against aerosolized disease transmission 2, 3, 4. One of the most politicized and now commercialized aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic is the use of cloth face coverings among the general public to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 1.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |