"NO!" This mask does not protect against COVID!

[bkoffman]

#CLLSociety Dr. Koffman says "NO!" This mask does not protect against COVID! Good Masks! Bad Masks! How to Use Masks! Unmasking the Mystery of Masks! Which ones are effective? Which ones are useless? Dr. Brian Koffman provides us with a well-referenced video guide to the appropriate use of various types of facial masks and respirators. Although he spices it up with humor, the effectiveness of mask construction is a topic of vital concern, especially to immunocompromised patients, such as those living with CLL during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Watch here. cllsociety.org/2020/10/unma...

[cajunjeff]

Duh Brian. That’s a Mardi Gras. I bet you bought it without voodoo. The mask is basically useless if no spell goes with it. And you have to be carful who you get you voodoo from. There are plenty of faux gypsies in New Orleans pretending to know voodoo who can’t turn a toad into a damn thing.

[bkoffman CLL CURE Hero in reply to cajunjeff]

Who knew voodoo like you knew voodoo? So are you saying with the proper incantations I would be well protected while wearing this mask against any virus, flu or COVID or the common cold? I would have to take it off to eat my gumbo, or in my case my beans and rice. Thanks.

[Smakwater in reply to cajunjeff]

My Gypsy is real, cause I used to be a Toad.

[bennevisplace]

Thanks Brian. If only this kind of advice had been placed in commercial slots on the airwaves six months ago, many lives would have been spared in your country and mine.

[Zeit]

Thanks for an excellent video.

[WarriorPrincess4]

Thank you. 👌🏻

[Luckofthedraw]

Dam I gust bought a 300 pack of those masks thinking I'd be safe for months and now you tell me there no good, ripped off again

[Smakwater]

I have a collection of scary clown masks that do actually protect me from covid19 in that people who see them either avoid me or extreme social distance.

I only wear them when their is a severe outbreak. I hear there will be one on October 31st.

Wear a clean mask Brian and don't touch your face, the stick is a good idea.

JM

[Everest8848]

Thanks Brian. To reinforce what you presented, just yesterday the BBC news ran a story on a Cambridge research study indicating that when hospital staff working on "Red" wards (i.e. with Covid patients) switched from standard surgical masks to N99/FFP3 masks the incidence of Covid amongst the staff dropped to the same level as staff working in the "Green" (Covid-free) wards, with the implication that the masks were "most likely 100%" effective in protecting the user against Covid infection. I would assume, based on your presentation, that if N95 filters out 95% of 3 micron particles, then N99 would filter out 99%. That is 5 times better!!

But important to remember that the effectiveness of the masks depends on proper fitting (to ensure a tight seal around the face) and handling (to avoid contamination).

bbc.co.uk/news/health-57636360

Until that news article I had never heard of N99/FFP3, so I Googled it and found it is readily available online (at least in the UK). Apparently the NHS should or could be using these masks more widely but simply aren't. A matter of funding. So if you go ahead and buy, I don't think you would be interfering in the NHS supply chain.

As Brian says regarding the N95 masks, there is range of design & quality, so read the small print.

As the UK government plans to unmask the country next month, and as Covid cases in the UK surge, the overriding priority for immunocompromised people will be to protect themselves. I will be wanting maximum personal protection when I venture out into unmasked public areas and will definitely upgrade to N99/FFP3 whatever the cost.

George