Prof. Maskhole

OK, it’s official: we can all remove our diapers now and breathe freely. A maskhole and “epidemiologist[,] Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of population health and disease prevention at UC Irvine” has decreed, “In the face of the highly transmissible omicron, the cloth masks are pure theater … They don’t do anything.”

Alas, I spoke too precipitously about freedom. Maskhole urges instead,

“You have to mask better than before,” while “the California Department of Public Health offers this assessment of masks’ ability to ward off COVID-19:

Most effective: N95

More effective: KF94, KN95, double mask, fitted surgical mask

Effective: Surgical mask

Least effective: Fabric mask with three or more cloth layers”

And what does a professional in “industrial hygiene” make of this twaddle? Fortunately, LRC counts among its readers Herman Mayfarth, who analyzed Maskhole’s nonsense for us:

No kidding. Knowledgeable professionals, including some of Prof. Noymer’s better educated medical colleagues, have been saying [masks don’t do anything] for the past TWO YEARS.

The appropriate professional qualification for specifying correct a) selection, b) use, and c) disposal of effective personal protective equipment (PPE), including, but not limited to, respiratory protection, is industrial hygiene, not medicine.

Industrial hygienists are degreed scientific and engineering professionals who specialize in protecting human life from environmental hazards.

Those of us who have been trained to work safely in IDLH (immediate danger to life and health) environments have realized from the get go that the “face mask” requirements of the COVID-19 era are utterly useless as PPE, and, as bad theater, serve only to discredit those who promote them.

Nor are N95 masks, a.k.a. dust mask respirators, likely to offer much protection, particularly if worn improperly.

While a surgical mask may be effective in blocking splashes and large-particle droplets, a face mask, by design, does not filter or block very small particles in the air that may be transmitted by coughs, sneezes, or certain medical procedures. Surgical masks also do not provide complete protection from germs and other contaminants because of the loose fit between the surface of the mask and your face.

An N95 respirator is a respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles. Note that the edges of the respirator are designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth.

N95 respirators are not designed for children or people with facial hair. Because a proper fit cannot be achieved on children and people with facial hair. [Note: If the government were serious about this, beards would be outlawed, for “public health reasons.” So far, this has not happened.]

And let’s pray it doesn’t. Remember that recently shaved beards are a sign of terrism, according to Our Rulers. Gracious, if the manliest among us shed their bristles, why, their own government might try to kill them.

Oh, wait: it’s already trying with the clot-shot. Never mind.

We return to Mr. Mayfarth’s observations:

Most N95 respirators are manufactured for use in construction and other industrial type jobs that expose workers to dust and small particles. They are regulated by the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

However, some N95 respirators are intended for use in a healthcare setting. Specifically, single-use, disposable respiratory protective devices used and worn by healthcare personnel during procedures to protect both the patient and healthcare personnel from the transfer of microorganisms, body fluids, and particulate material. These surgical N95 respirators are class II devices regulated by the FDA, under 21 CFR 878.4040, and CDC NIOSH under 42 CFR Part 84.

N95s respirators regulated under product code MSH are class II medical devices.

Experts like Mr. Mayfarth can inveigh all they like against the absurdity that masks can prevent disease and COVIDCon’s destruction of their field. Doesn’t matter. The scamdemic will never relinquish this very visible and effective symbol of submission to the State.

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12:49 pm on January 10, 2022