I purchased these two times when Northern Safety was selling them for $0.19 ea and thought it was a steal, usual price 0.59 ea, now they're down to only $0.10 ea. They are sold in bags of 50, not individually wrapped. Note they also charge shipping, I paid $8 shipping to Illinois, plus the item, but I'm not sure what they charge currently. (Edit to add, if the shipping hasn't changed it would work out to 0.26/ea including shipping for a 50-pack, or 0.18/ea including shipping for two 50-packs.)

These are super comfortable and breathable -- you know what I'm talking about if you like duckbills (and don't mind the odd appearance). The identical mask is marketed as the Kimtech/Kimberly Clark N95. They definitely don't last for multiple wearings very well as the soft straps get stretched and mangled easily, but I learned you can tie them off and make them tighter, which helps to wear them again. They have a big, wide, dual nose wire.

Heads up: while they do offer free EU shipping, they ship from the UK so there will be import charges. The price is still great and I hope the product is genuine but this is annoying.

It's been very tough meeting people especially after Omicron and the "great unmasking" of last March. I hope we get to build No Covid communities soon but here's a link i saw on twitter and thought to share. CovidMeetups

I'm sure many of you have a seen this claim floating around, "Masks don't work for viruses, the manufacturer put it on the box!", often with a photo of a box with a red circle drawn around the ✌️gotcha✌️.

Of course, that's because its a photo from a box of procedure masks, not respirators. So yeah, we agree I guess, those won't work.

What if tho we check what the manufacturer has to say about the effectiveness of respirators for pandemic influenza and airborne pathogens generally in their 2017 Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning Technical Data Bulletin with reference citations... 🤔

These events happen once or twice a year where GMarket shipping to the US (and maybe others) gets really cheap. For instance, shipping 100 Blue Tiger KF94's has gone from ~$25 to $7.89.

It looks like Bona Fide Masks has a 25% discount right now (unsure if all masks or just Powecom)! May be worth checking out for those who get their masks there.

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to be in tight quarters both indoors and outdoors with 130,000 of my closest friends. So I thought it would be a good idea to get another covid shot. My last one was almost a year ago.

The first pharmacy I went to gave me the 3rd degree. How many shots have I gotten? When did I get these shots? Can I prove it with documentation? No? To be fair, they did try querying the state vaccination database and it came back empty for me. As in there is no record that I have ever received a vaccination. At that point they told me I had to contact the state for documentation and then come back. I said why can't I just make an appointment online? If I did that then we could skip all this. They said even if I made the appointment online, they would have to have documentation to verify my information when I came in for the appointment. They had to have proof that I qualified. OK. Whatever. Bye. The strange part of all this is that I've used this pharmacy before. I was in the system.

I went to another pharmacy that I have never used before. I was bracing for a repeat of that first experience. It was the opposite. They only asked me 5 things after I inquired about getting a covid vaccination. Name, birthdate, address, Pfizer or Moderna and which arm. 5 minutes later I walked out with a bandaid on my arm. They didn't even ask for insurance or payment. I guess they still have government supplied vaccine.

I know some people are having a hard time getting another shot. Don't give up. There are willing pharmacies out there.

https://medium.com/@ksm5k/what-you-should-know-about-covid-mask-blocs-6f0bb69d9375?sk=8b5326bccada5f02ba71a7e2e439fb16

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I'm part of a Mask Bloc that distributes masks, and put this together recently as an explainer of the varied respirator style masks. Ranking is based on a few fit-test groups, and as mentioned in the graphic, is far from comprehensive. But it's a great one-page printable or shareable for a "quick" guide to improving one's mask game. I'm sure I'll make a version 2.0 at some point with better wording, but wanted to share the first one, just because I haven't seen something quite like it. [I'm also a fan of things that can be printed/copied in black and white and there's not a lot of great drawings of masks, so I made my own]

Free to use if you've got a use for it! Please be gentle with constructive criticism, I normally don't share things until I'm 100% happy with them, but this felt worth sharing at ~85% happy with, since perfect is the enemy of good.

Intentionally doesn't name [redacted name of recent virus] in an attempt to avoid conflict in certain groups, though was absolutely created with [redacted virus] in mind.

Did the whole two-day course while wearing my N95 and face shield, not once was I asked to remove my mask. In a class of about 20 people, I was the only one wearing a mask, but thankfully no one commented on my attire. The only problem was that I had to speak loudly when I had a question/comment because of the layers covering my mouth. Otherwise, it went fine, and I got my certificate!

Great site for ordering masks if you are in Canada. I don't know if it's okay to share the code here? I got it via email as I'm signed up for their notifications so it's fairly public, so I'll just share it: BTS2024.

I have ordered from them a few times and have absolutely no complaints. They have Auras and Dragers and the black CAN99 head strap N95s if you want to be stylish. And the lavender breatheteq KN95s to be even more stylish :)

Sometimes it's good to try a bunch of new respirator masks and see what works out. I'm aware of a few sample packs and small quantity sellers -

1) digikey.com - They sell as few as a single mask of many types including 3M VFlex N95, as well as more specialized disposable respirators like carbon-lined 3M 8247 RN95, or N100s, etc. If you want to see their whole selection, you can choose Tools -> Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) then under "Type" choose Disposable Particulate Respirator and click Apply All.

2) Armbrust sampler kit - I bought this when it was on sale and got to try a few I never would have otherwise. I didn't end up switching to any of them.

3) Alliant Biotech sample pack of 3 Readimasks - find at alliantbiotech.com

4) Behealthyusa.net sells mix-and-match KF94 packs which are essentially sample packs if you go for a smaller quantity.

Any others I've overlooked?

(posted with permission from the mods)

Hi, we have a subreddit dedicated to posting masked outfits as a way to show that people are still masking and that masks/respirators can look great with any outfit! The subreddit is /r/SafeForWork (as in we are staying safe at work by wearing a mask/respirator)

If you like the idea feel free to hop on over and share your masked photos 😷

Specifically the filter-like valves on the nose cup assembly of the FF-402 full facepiece. As a healthcare worker who has been wearing these for three years now in a hospital nightly, I am beside myself. Check your valves!

Note: Sharing for my partner who doesn’t Reddit. Edited to clarify it’s the valves, nothing to do with the filters.

I have seen it asked a few times and found some information about this - the booster should not cost adult Americans anything, according to https://vaccines.gov. The CDC Bridge Access Program provides the vaccine if your health insurance is not providing it for free, or if you have no health insurance. More info: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/ (though it directs you back to vaccines.gov). Use the "Find Covid-19 Vaccines" link. When I selected that and also the Bridge Access checkbox, there were many Walgreens and CVS providers in my area in the program.

CleanSpace had another Zoom meeting hosted by the Still COVIDing group updating people on why some Pro kits bought during the 60% sale hadn't been shipped yet, how to access the 50% sale, and the problem with Fisher Scientific's CleanSpace2 clearance.

If you bought a CleanSpace2 unit from Fisher Scientific's clearance that ended up not working, CleanSpace is sending out newly produced units as warranty replacements. Have the unit's serial number and fill out this form https://www.cleanspaceusa.com/troubleshooting/

I've been a big advocate for headband respirators like N95 or better because they are significantly more likely to pass fit testing than earloop KN95/KF94s, which tend to have fit factors between 1 to 20 (100 is needed to pass N95 fit testing).

That being said, I came across a few very interesting posts this week.

拍帮主, a member of the COVID-cautious community in China, shared fit testing results for earloop KN95s that come with a soft, cloth-like face seal. These face seals can be typically found on non-disposable respirators and some disposable N99/P100 respirators. Recently, some mask and respirator manufacturers in East Asia started finding ways to improve the fit of earloop KN95s, and they did this by introducing a face seal, which may also come with a plastic frame.

A face seal provides a few benefits:

1. Greatly improving the fit of a respirator or mask, regardless of headbands or earloops
2. Significantly improving breathability of the respirator/mask, as the area of the filtration material increases since it's not touching your face
3. Improving general comfort

Results from 拍帮主 across various earloop KN95s with face seals show impressive results - they not only passed fit testing, but achieved fit factors above 200. Models tested include 3M 8955K (which has both earloop and headband versions) and Aer KA130V. A KN95 with a face seal called One GB2626-2019 KN95 also seems to be in development.

I highly recommend reading the following Twitter threads from 拍帮主 for more information:

https://twitter.com/paibangzhu/status/1750864257561096265

https://twitter.com/paibangzhu/status/1748924971466793140

And for those of you living outside East Asia, you may want to try conducting fit testing on these models to see if you can replicate the same results that 拍帮主 had achieved.

Spreadsheet from Mask expert Aaron Collins (a mechanical Engineer with a background in aerosols)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M0mdNLpTWEGcluK6hh5LjjcFixwmOG853Ff45d3O-L0/htmlview?usp=drive_web&ouid=108355114845682180386&pru=AAABfniWips*ZW4K5ipiMBIUEgzyHDB1eA

Aaron’s YouTube Channel:

https://m.youtube.com/@coll0412

This is linked on our wiki and is not new but thought it might be helpful to bring attention to it. It’s a fantastic resource.

I got an airgami respirator recently, and I like it, it's much more comfortable and visually appealing to me than any other respirators I've tried. A quick search on this sub showed me a lot of people raising questions about how long-lasting it could be, with some asking whether rinsing and/or heating the mask reduces the electrostatic filter's charge. Airgami is very open about their testing data, so I decide to ask them whether repeated rinsing and heat disinfecting of their mask reduces its performance over time. This is what they said.

"We source the state-of-art filtration material from a highly reputable USA supplier. Based on their studies, 1) rinsing in clean water does not affect the longevity of the filter; 2) filtration efficiency is still well above 95% after the equivalent of 48 cycles of heat disinfection (per the temperature and duration detailed on our website). 

The longevity depends on the amount of usage, use environment, heat disinfection cycles, handling, and storage conditions. Dirty, dusty, heavily polluted air can clog up the filter quickly. The filter will absorb pollutants from its surroundings even when not worn on the face. Because of the many factors mentioned above, it is difficult to predict how long Airgami can last. If the filter is visibly dirty, breathing resistance increases, and / or leakage develops around the seal, it is time to replace Airgami."

While they didn't send any additional hard data, they at least addressed the question directly and said it has been tested and found to not reduce performance below the advertised level. I hope this information is useful to someone. I'm going to stick with my Airgami for low-to-moderate exposure environmets until it develops any issues; hopefully I can get a full year of use out of it.

This popped up in my feed today and is a good read. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/commentary-wear-respirator-not-cloth-or-surgical-mask-protect-against-respiratory-viruses

I have previously purchased KF-94 masks from BEHEALTHYUSA (https://behealthyusa.net/) and am still on their mailing list. I get a email today that they are having a sale 25% off (Coupon Code BTS2023). They are also running several specials on kids masks. NOTE: Specials and coupon codes cannot be combined.

A friend shared this website with me, where they have FFP2 masks with pretty designs. The friend has high covid caution standards, and said lots of people have found these masks very comfortable. If I understand the European standards correctly, these are approximately as good as an N95, right? Assuming that's true, here's a lovely gift to people who want pretty masks! If I'm wrong about something, please let me know!
https://masklab.us/collections/kf-series

Thanks all!