Coffee chat: which masks are best?

It has become increasingly important to upgrade our masks given how contagious the omciron variant is and the recent data suggesting the need to switch to high filtration masks, but which masks are worth investing in? The two most important features we look at our mask quality and mask fit. Studies have shown that the risk of infection increases within minutes for someone who is wearing a cloth or surgical mask compared to someone wearing a well fitted, high filtration mask where exposure would take hours before it became a threat. Of course, fit-tested National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approved N95 masks often used by healthcare workers offer the best protection overall, but even non-fit tested N95 masks offer more protection than any other mask. In a study by Lindsley et al. 2021, % outward and inward leakage was evaluated and time to infectious dose for an uninfected person was assessed with different types of masks. It was demonstrated that the N95 is superior to surgical masks, cloth masks and wearing no mask at all. Brosseau et al. 2020 assessed non-fit tested N95s and also arrived at favorable conclusions. For those who may not have access to N95s, KN95s and KF94s offer excellent protection. For specific mask recommendations, check out the mask nerd, Aaron Collins. As an engineer and expert in aerosol science, he does his own experiments looking at filtration efficiency (FE) of various masks and has great videos on youtube with detailed reviews (keep in mind experiments are done on his own face). I took a look at these and put together his top rated masks:

Bluna FaceFit Large KF94 with 99.1% FE

Mask Lab KF Style FFP2 with 98.3% FE

CleanTop Evergreen KF94 with 99.8% FE

LG Airwasher KF94 with 99.1% FE

For smaller faces, mask nerd recommends the BOTN Medium KF94 with 99.7% FE and Dr.Puri Medium KF94 with 98.7% FE

Powecom Black KN95 with 96.8%-98.9% FE

Arun External Nose Clip KN95 with 99.8% FE

With children going back to in person learning all over the country, many parents are wondering what masks are best to help keep their kids safe. @masknerd has a great youtube video that provides some guidance, but I would also add that the best mask for your children is the one they can keep on the longest. Here are the ones recommended by @masknerd:

Blue Tiger Kids KF94 with 99.4% FE

Bluna Kids KF94 with 98.8% FE

BOTN Kids KF94 with 99.3% FE

HappyLife Goodsay Youth KF94 with 99.3% FE

Now that we have established what kinds of masks are necessary to keep us well-protected, we should expect the government to increase production of these masks, make them widely available and free for all! #maskup #maskswork ##maskmandates #covid19 #doctorsofinstagram #physiciansofinstagram