topic Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission in Community Chat

Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

Mindy D — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:35:58 GMT

Just a couple of interesting studies, including a review, for those of you interested.

From one study, "Face Mask Use and Control of Respiratory Virus Transmission in Households:

"We estimated that, irrespective of the assumed value for the incubation period (1 or 2 days), the relative reduction in the daily risk of acquiring a respiratory infection associated with adherent mask use (P2 or surgical) was in the range of 60%–80%. Those results are consistent with those of a simpler analysis in which persons were stratified according to adherence "

From the review of the literature, "A Rapid Systamatic Review of the Efficacy of Face Masks and Respirators Against Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Transnissible aviruses For the Community Heathcare Workers and Sick Patients" (link #2)

"In the community, masks appeared to be more effective than hand hygiene alone, and both together are more protective. Randomised controlled trials in health care workers showed that respirators, if worn continually during a shift, were effective but not if worn intermittently. Medical masks were not effective, and cloth masks even less effective. When used by sick patients randomised controlled trials suggested protection of well contacts."

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjOjfj0iaXpAhUNUK0KHdrZDXEQFjAAegQIBRAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC2662657%2F&usg=AOvVaw3hxc1kD6OER66b4_9pyJ3R

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=2ahUKEwjOk7jfiaXpAhVHeawKHbd7BCgQFjABegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC7191274%2F&usg=AOvVaw0yifzb3R8Pt8KZVfERDAo3

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

suzyQ3 — Fri, 08 May 2020 20:57:50 GMT

The I read this study is that it's about protection for oneself. We wear masks to protect others.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

stuyvesant — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:11:32 GMT

I wear a mask to protect myself. I'm very happy that it also protects others.

With me wearing a mask for my own protection, and others wearing a mask to protect me, I'm covering all the bases, Lol

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

happycat — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:17:15 GMT

The drs and nurses that I have been seeing on the front lines, have been wearing masks. I don't think its just to protect ourselves. Its to protect others too.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

CrazyDaisy — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:16:11 GMT

@suzyQ3 wrote:
The I read this study is that it's about protection for oneself. We wear masks to protect others.

Which is why many are questioning how effective this practice actually is, if it cannot protect you how can it protect others. It seems to have become..."throw enough xxxx at the wall and hope enough sticks" method.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

QueenDanceALot — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:28:44 GMT

Another mask fight?

Oh, I just received a really pretty one today from LOVE KUZA.

Not only pretty but it fits really nicely.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

suzyQ3 — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:20:28 GMT

@CrazyDaisy wrote:

@suzyQ3 wrote:
The I read this study is that it's about protection for oneself. We wear masks to protect others.
Which is why many are questioning how effective this practice actually is, if it cannot protect you how can it protect others. It seems to have become..."throw enough xxxx at the wall and hope enough sticks" method.

@CrazyDaisy, it's an argument for everybody to wear masks when near others. I protect you; you protect me. Also, there is, I believe, a very small amount of protection for onself...just not much of it, especially in comparison to medical masks.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

Mindy D — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:28:15 GMT

@CrazyDaisy wrote:

@suzyQ3 wrote:
The I read this study is that it's about protection for oneself. We wear masks to protect others.
Which is why many are questioning how effective this practice actually is, if it cannot protect you how can it protect others. It seems to have become..."throw enough xxxx at the wall and hope enough sticks" method.

@CrazyDaisy The studies I posted speak to the efficacy in preventing viral transmission. Mask wearing is not the only strategy to curtail transmission but there is evidence that it is helpful.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

QueenDanceALot — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:30:51 GMT

@Mindy D wrote:
@CrazyDaisy wrote:

@s@I uzyQ3 wrote:
The I read this study is that it's about protection for oneself. We wear masks to protect others.
Which is why many are questioning how effective this practice actually is, if it cannot protect you how can it protect others. It seems to have become..."throw enough xxxx at the wall and hope enough sticks" method.
@CrazyDaisy The studies I posted speak to the efficacy in preventing viral transmission. Mask wearing is not the only strategy to curtail transmission but there is evidence that it is helpful.

@Mindy D

It appears that some people don't think that "helpful" is a good thing.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

stuyvesant — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:32:45 GMT

I have promised myself, when this is over and if I'm lucky enough to still be around, I am buying myself the biggest, best N95 mask I can find. Multiples of them.

I am going to put them in a special pandemic box, along with my hastily made, Hunan produced surgical masks (which I prefer to the cloth masks) along with some other pandemic items as mementos.

And may I then never have cause to open that box again.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

suzyQ3 — Fri, 08 May 2020 21:34:34 GMT

@stuyvesant wrote:
I have promised myself, when this is over and if I'm lucky enough to still be around, I am buying myself the biggest, best N95 mask I can find. Multiples of them.

I am going to put them in a special pandemic box, along with my hastily made, Hunan produced surgical masks (which I prefer to the cloth masks) along with some other pandemic items as mementos.

And may I then never have cause to open that box again.

@stuyvesant,, may I delicately suggest throwing some TP in as well.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

Stray — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:02:55 GMT

Masks protect others. That’s why doctor/nurses wear them in ORs. We both wear masks we protect each other.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

Drythe — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:24:52 GMT

@QueenDanceALot wrote:
Another mask fight?

Oh, I just a really pretty one today from LOVE KUZA.

Not only pretty but it fits really nicely.

@QueenDanceALot

Yes,

‘The MASK’

and

It’s no worse than the ‘FLU’

Often raised and flagged endlessly, to distract from many unfortunate truths of the Pandemic our country is facing.

The Numbers Don’t Lie.

77,925 ~ RIP

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

pitdakota — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:14:45 GMT

So according to this study @Mindy D,

"adherence to use of the P2 or surgical masks significantly reduces the risk for ILI (influenza like illnesses) with a hazard ratio of 0.26". However, there was low adherence in many households. But for those that did adhere to using the mask it did decrease the transmission of the disease their household children acquired.

Not surprised to see a p value closer to statistical significance for the P2 mask than the surgical masks. But both arms of the study with adherence did decrease transmission. Not surprised either to see that the P2 arm had a lower adherence. Those masks are compatible to the N95 masks here and they can be very difficult to wear for long periods of time.

That is evidenced by the pictures in the beginning here of the nurses and doctors with creases and bruises on their faces from wearing the same N95 masks for hours and hours. We are used to wearing them for one time in the patient's room then removing and putting another one on when you have to go back into the room. These guys have to wear them for hours at a time.

BTW, there is an article submitted for publication in which experts in Austria discuss that mandating wearing masks in the public with strong adherence by the population, decreased their covid-19 infections by 90% within 2 weeks. Not sure when that article will be published with their research.

But there is an article in Science that does discuss the overall Austria situation. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are also saying their very low infection rates is attributed to mandating the public to wear masks early when their cases occurred.

They are maintaining that the US and the UK have such high infection rates due to not mandating and enforcing wearing masks in public.

I am pretty sure that overall article was in Science. But looking forward to reading the specific analysis coming from Austria.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

pitdakota — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:18:49 GMT

@Mindy D, I found the article. It had been a couple of days since I read it but google works again! Here it is:

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/25410/20200421/austria-90-drop-coronavirus-cases-requiring-people-wear-face-masks.htm

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

suzyQ3 — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:43:37 GMT

@pitdakota wrote:
@Mindy D, I found the article. It had been a couple of days since I read it but google works again! Here it is:

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/25410/20200421/austria-90-drop-coronavirus-cases-requiring-people-wear-face-masks.htm

@pitdakota, just to make sure, which types of masks were studied? Were they medical grade or also cloth masks?

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

QueenDanceALot — Fri, 08 May 2020 23:23:17 GMT

It has really been irritating me lately that masks are "suggested" but not mandated.

Namby Pamby isn't going to get it done.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

MoJoV — Fri, 08 May 2020 23:24:59 GMT

@pitdakota wrote:
So according to this study @Mindy D,

"adherence to use of the P2 or surgical masks significantly reduces the risk for ILI (influenza like illnesses) with a hazard ratio of 0.26". However, there was low adherence in many households. But for those that did adhere to using the mask it did decrease the transmission of the disease their household children acquired.

Not surprised to see a p value closer to statistical significance for the P2 mask than the surgical masks. But both arms of the study with adherence did decrease transmission. Not surprised either to see that the P2 arm had a lower adherence. Those masks are compatible to the N95 masks here and they can be very difficult to wear for long periods of time.

That is evidenced by the pictures in the beginning here of the nurses and doctors with creases and bruises on their faces from wearing the same N95 masks for hours and hours. We are used to wearing them for one time in the patient's room then removing and putting another one on when you have to go back into the room. These guys have to wear them for hours at a time.

BTW, there is an article submitted for publication in which experts in Austria discuss that mandating wearing masks in the public with strong adherence by the population, decreased their covid-19 infections by 90% within 2 weeks. Not sure when that article will be published with their research.

But there is an article in Science that does discuss the overall Austria situation. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are also saying their very low infection rates is attributed to mandating the public to wear masks early when their cases occurred.

They are maintaining that the US and the UK have such high infection rates due to not mandating and enforcing wearing masks in public.

I am pretty sure that overall article was in Science. But looking forward to reading the specific analysis coming from Austria.

We were told at the beginning of this pandemic masks weren't needed,actually may make things worse. First it's this then it's that,confusion reigns.

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

pitdakota — Fri, 08 May 2020 23:59:39 GMT

@MoJoV, I don't think it is confusion so much as their understanding of how this virus is transmitted and being at different stages of mitigation evolves as they learn more about the infection.

If people are pretty much locked down and not going out along with those that are working are using social distancing, the influenza virus can be contained fairly effectively as well as the SARS virus. But then they were finding out this virus was more contagious than they thought previously.

The previous SARS virus didn't have that high of a level of infectivity, but it was more deadly as they are finding out now with this coronavirus. Since they had never dealt with this particular virus, it made sense at the time to react to the virus as if it was very similar to SARS. As more and more cases occurred, they learned it was acting different than SARS in how contagious it was and also the clinical pathophysiology of the disease. The coronavirus is not as deadly as SARS, but many of the complications they are seeing today with this virus were not found with SARS. Probably because the people died so quickly with SARS. So while it isn't as deadly as SARS, they are seeing all kinds of clinical sequalae that they have not seen previously with viral infections. They are learning about that as well and changing practice based on what they are learning.

Research that has come out of China, Italy, and South Korea has offered quite a bit of information that changed thinking and recommendations. Geez, that stuff happens all the time with all kinds of things. Not just infectious disease.

I imagine it was quite sobering when they learned of the analysis of contact tracing in South Korea in which one woman attending a couple of church services on that same day led to 1,000 cases. Pretty sobering that it can be that contagious! Stops you in your tracks.

So as more information comes along recommendations will change and they get better at understanding what they are seeing, how to deal with it, and better ways to deal with the situation.

Geez, that happens in all kinds of things. Even something like learning to knit. The more one learns about knitting, the better they get and they learn better strategies that work for them when knitting.

These things about well they told us this and then changed. Yes!! And that is what you want them to do. How would you like it if they learned information that should have changed recommendations and didn't tell the public so that more infections continued to happen?

Re: Research on masks and effectiveness in preventing virus transmission

Mindy D — Sat, 09 May 2020 00:01:24 GMT

@pitdakota wrote:
So according to this study @Mindy D,

"adherence to use of the P2 or surgical masks significantly reduces the risk for ILI (influenza like illnesses) with a hazard ratio of 0.26". However, there was low adherence in many households. But for those that did adhere to using the mask it did decrease the transmission of the disease their household children acquired.

Not surprised to see a p value closer to statistical significance for the P2 mask than the surgical masks. But both arms of the study with adherence did decrease transmission. Not surprised either to see that the P2 arm had a lower adherence. Those masks are compatible to the N95 masks here and they can be very difficult to wear for long periods of time.

That is evidenced by the pictures in the beginning here of the nurses and doctors with creases and bruises on their faces from wearing the same N95 masks for hours and hours. We are used to wearing them for one time in the patient's room then removing and putting another one on when you have to go back into the room. These guys have to wear them for hours at a time.

BTW, there is an article submitted for publication in which experts in Austria discuss that mandating wearing masks in the public with strong adherence by the population, decreased their covid-19 infections by 90% within 2 weeks. Not sure when that article will be published with their research.

But there is an article in Science that does discuss the overall Austria situation. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are also saying their very low infection rates is attributed to mandating the public to wear masks early when their cases occurred.

They are maintaining that the US and the UK have such high infection rates due to not mandating and enforcing wearing masks in public.

I am pretty sure that overall article was in Science. But looking forward to reading the specific analysis coming from Austria.

@pitdakota @I'll be reading. Finally, someone else that is interested.