Any Current or Former Non Maskers?

Never wear one outside unless in a crowd of people. Forgot to wear one on the train a few times but no one cared.
 
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(delurks)



Yeah, came down with some mystery illness around March which knocked me out for a few weeks (it kind of fitted the profile but at the time nowhere enough to come close to a test), and even pre-Covid my work keeps me at home in front of the computer way too much (no, not webcam), and a bunch of other stuff, and kind of drifted away from a lot of online forums and the like for a while. And no interest in doing anything involving close quarters in dubiously ventilated surroundings with strangers.

On topic, I hardly ever used to wear a mask (not used to it, seemed a bit dorky), but the science makes sense (largely ineffective at protection but an excellent tool in slowing down the spread if everyone wears one), so no problem. I also see no problem in using it as a chin warmer when walking/cycling outside, unless the area is crowded.

A number of my friends, particularly the ones who insisted on international travel as the outbreak began, came down with mystery illnesses in March. Slight fever and body aches, fatigue and one said if felt like her lungs had shrunk. She went to get tested, her household went on lock-down, and then a couple days later she came back negative. She called me to ask if I wanted to come over to grill steaks and drink wine. I replied with a simple, "FUCK NO."

What I honestly think is that during the early stages, our testing systems were just pure shit and often inaccurate. In March, none of us really understood what this was. And considering the rate of asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic infections, there were probably a whole lot of people who caught COVID and to this day don't realize it. If I'd gotten mysteriously sick earlier this year, I'd definitely go pay for one of those antibody tests. If I've already got the antibodies that'd do wonders in terms of making me less neurotic.

But on topic, I just received a case of 200 Korean 3M N95 masks, and another case of 200 Chinese KN95 masks. Happy days are here, again.
 
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I was a non-masker until the governor of my state ordered to wear it in public spaces in April. I was still skeptical back then.

Now, I am a believer. I wear a mask as much as I can even when I am alone at home. What made me change my mind is Yale's study last year on the work of cilia in the respiratory tract. It was about flu, but it really convinced me that keeping my respiratory tract warm and humid is important to get the cilia to function well to get the virus out from the airways. It's part of innate immunity that we have. I understand a mask as a warmer/humidifier of my respiratory tract rather than a filter. For a filter, any mask other than N95 is not effective. I don't believe its efficacy as a filter, but as a humidifier, a mask makes sense to me.

https://www.biospace.com/article/re...he-fight-against-covid-19-virologists-report/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7329669/
 
Do you buy Chinese products? I am surprised.

Unfortunately, Chinese-made 95-rated masks are about the only thing we can get here. I would imagine it's the same in Japan? Of course, I've got a handful of the original ventilated 3M N95 masks from before the pandemic hit and I believe those are made in the U.S. (or at least not in China) but those are no longer available to civilians. The Chinese KN95 masks are the only readily-available "good" masks you can find, although certainly not for cheap. If you visit most hospitals in non-ER settings, this is what most staff are wearing. They can be had for around $7/mask retail, and I was able to get in on a bulk deal for around $1.50/mask. These are pretty much what I wear all day while at work and out in public. I throw mine in a UV-sanitizer when I get home and try to get a week out of each one.

The Korean-made 3M N95 masks are nice and should be good quality, but they're also ventilated, which means they're banned in most healthcare settings. I keep a couple in my work and personal vehicles but unless I'm going somewhere I consider really risky, I generally avoid wearing them to avoid getting dirty looks. I've got 200 of them but I figure I can still use them for chores and cleaning once this pandemic is over.

But even the NIOSH-certified N95 masks, which are about as good as you can get stateside, are now made in China. I managed to get my hands on four cases of those, which I'm basically saving for any overseas travel that may come up. And those fuckers are pretty expensive, if you can get them at all. I've only ever seen them being used in hospitals, so I keep my stash hidden and/or locked up.

It's remarkable how this pandemic has triggered my OCD tendencies and brought out my inner-hoarder. I hope this is all over soon.
 
Unfortunately, Chinese-made 95-rated masks are about the only thing we can get here. I would imagine it's the same in Japan? Of course, I've got a handful of the original ventilated 3M N95 masks from before the pandemic hit and I believe those are made in the U.S. (or at least not in China) but those are no longer available to civilians. The Chinese KN95 masks are the only readily-available "good" masks you can find, although certainly not for cheap. If you visit most hospitals in non-ER settings, this is what most staff are wearing. They can be had for around $7/mask retail, and I was able to get in on a bulk deal for around $1.50/mask. These are pretty much what I wear all day while at work and out in public. I throw mine in a UV-sanitizer when I get home and try to get a week out of each one.

The Korean-made 3M N95 masks are nice and should be good quality, but they're also ventilated, which means they're banned in most healthcare settings. I keep a couple in my work and personal vehicles but unless I'm going somewhere I consider really risky, I generally avoid wearing them to avoid getting dirty looks. I've got 200 of them but I figure I can still use them for chores and cleaning once this pandemic is over.

But even the NIOSH-certified N95 masks, which are about as good as you can get stateside, are now made in China. I managed to get my hands on four cases of those, which I'm basically saving for any overseas travel that may come up. And those fuckers are pretty expensive, if you can get them at all. I've only ever seen them being used in hospitals, so I keep my stash hidden and/or locked up.

It's remarkable how this pandemic has triggered my OCD tendencies and brought out my inner-hoarder. I hope this is all over soon.

you are gullible and a hypochondriac lol
 
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