A properly worn respirator is the most effective way to prevent infection and spread of COVID-19 disease.

The most effective respirator at a reasonable price is an elastomeric respirator with detachable filters. The best filter is N100 or P100. These filters are at least 99.97% efficient at filtering out the tiny particles that carry the virus.

Respirators are effective against all variants of the virus. They are also effective against other respiratory viruses and pollen.

The respirator should be NIOSH-approved.

Make sure you do a seal check each time you wear the respirator so that no air leaks around the mask.

Make sure the filter material doesn’t get wet because it won't work as well when it is wet.

Don't ever remove the respirator when you are around other people or are where other people have been recently. Don't even remove it to eat. Find a safe place to eat away from other people who might be infected.

(Image: A cop wearing an elastomeric respirator, lic. CC-BY-AT-2.5. Attribution: Ryssby at en.wikipedia)

@Pat I think we can agree at this point covid is here to stay forever... so whats the game plan for you personally, just wear a resperator for the rest of your life anything you interact with someone?

@freemo

If I get COVID-19, I'm mostly likely dead, so yes all those fuckheads who can't be bothered to wear a fucking mask in order to save the lives of million people are causing of all us who are old or immuniocomprised to have to continue to wear protection.

So what, exactly, is your motivation to want cause more people to die from COVID-19? Are you just sadistic? Does your Pfiser stock go up a half point every time a million more people die? Why do you want to kill more people?

Don't answer right now. Think about it. Talk it over with your priest or your rabbi or your therapist or your accountant first.

Then come back explain why it is so important to you to cause more people to die.

@Pat You could argue tthat about flu and other common diseases... there are always a rare few people who will be at high risk.

But again my question is, knowing what you said to be true, what is your end game here.. is the proposal that no 2 humans should ever interact again without a resperator? If the risk is so dire that means even sleeping with one if your married... is that the end game?

@freemo

We've had this convo a dozen times now. If just a majority of peolpe wore a respirator, the epidmeic would end and we wouldn't have to wear masks anymore.

But because of greed or graspingness or ignorance, those who control public health policy and the media want the pandemic to continue, even if millions more die.

@Pat But thats not how it works... if every last person wore resperators the virus would slow to minimal numbers, but then they would immediately spike again when people wore them... Compound that with the fact that we arent likely to get everyone tto wear them anyway the fact will remain no matter what we do you will always have the virus and always need the resperator.

So my question is this... if we all played along and you found out that what i said was right... the virus never goes away... whats the next step, take them off and let people die, or where them forever?

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@freemo

We've already gone over this. With the original variant just 40% compliance would end the pandemic. With the current variants it would require a substantial majority, but not everyone. Once the virus is eliminated in the country, then masks off, and contact-trace any localized outbreaks, and when necessary masks back on again if it gets out of control again.

Asia has been doing that ever since SARS I.

@Pat I know and im saying your wrong... you dont "end" them.. just just reduce them enough that they arent noticable until you unmask and then they come right back...

Regardless imnot asking to debate if you think it will end it or not... im saying **if** im right and it doesnt end and comes right back and it never disappears entirely... then what?

@freemo

>"and it never disappears entirely... then what?"

What I said. We deal with it. Use respirators when necessary until we can science the shit out of it and then do a smallpox on it.

@Pat You are still assuming you can "do a smallpox on it"... not all diseases can be eradicated, some can.. smallpox could be, COVID-19 cant, not an option, it works different... There is no getting around the fact that it will be here forever. So your only option is to wear masks forever, and every generation to come to do the same.

@freemo

I guess I have more hope in science than you do. But I'm afraid I haven't much hope in humanity, which is the real problem here, not a disease.

@Pat its not so much about science, its just the nature of various... COVID mutates too quickly to eradicate and exists in non-human hosts... so its just not possible even with perfect vaccines.

@freemo @Pat

I do what @mikmaqpeek asks of me to the best I can for her sake, wearing a mask as best as I am able where it is reasonable to do so.

Baring that, I go with what is in my comfort zone, which is usually in public, enclosed spaces. At work, I overheat, and my relative risk is low, so I don't if it impacts my ability to perform.

Beyond all that, if I'm made to feel I'm wrong no matter what I do, I'll damn well do as I please. Don't make me feel wrong no matter what I do. Nobody will be happy.

@Romaq

Do what you want, of course, but know what you've done.

@freemo @mikmaqpeek

@Pat @freemo @mikmaqpeek I've taken a risk at living. The one best for my own best interests. It's called "living." Don't put me in the position where I'm wrong no matter what I do.

@Romaq

>"Don't put me in the position where I'm wrong no matter what I do."

Okay.

@freemo @mikmaqpeek

@Pat @freemo I'm actually not sure about the minimum proportion that would be needed for stopping COVID-19 transmission, particularly with current variants. This is the kind of stuff I defer to my medical doctor parents over, and unfortunately both of them are busy today.

@mathlover @Pat I am head of the entire company working on COVID... we have hundreds of samples in our lab and work with COVID daily, my career is centered around COVID... trust me when i say, you dont "get rid of" a virus like this... you can reduce it to the pointt where it will be background noise and then it will resurge again later, but it never goes away.

@freemo @Pat I see.
Anyway, I am stepping out of the convo for now. I have some other stuff to do at the moment. I'll check back in later.

@freemo @mathlover @Pat

Having read further I can see you brought up reducing it to the background. I'm still not good at finding everything in a thread of responses here! So take what I said about comparing it to measles and pretend I was agreeing with this statement :)

In the end, even a flu-like amount of infection(2 infections a decade on average) might not be so bad for your health. The jury's still out on that. Getting it multiple times a year is simply not a viable way forward. Agree to disagree there, but I'm near 100% certain that the issues with that path forward will continue to bring about unfortunate health events for the majority of people, not a minority.

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