To Mask Or Not To Mask? And Why You Need a KN95 Mask
It’s been almost two years since I first posted about COVID-19, where I discussed this new virus that we were all coming to grips with, and continually learning more about every single day….
In that April 2020 blog, I talked about only front line workers needing to wear masks, and at that stage, we weren’t even wearing masks while working in the Pharmacy.
But the reality is that a lot has changed about what we know since April 2020, and a huge amount of verifiable evidence continues to emerge about the benefits of masks for everyone in the community.
This knowledge has never been more relevant for us here in New Zealand, especially now as we are amidst our biggest ever surge in covid cases within our community.
We as a society have moved away from the eradication model, and are now amidst phase three of the omicron plan, where the government has explicitly told us that from today onwards we are going to be ‘Living with COVID’.
It is important to note that this does not mean we should disregard its existence and go about our business as if everything is back to normal.
On the contrary, ‘living with it’ means that we must learn to adapt to the ongoing risks while returning back to socialising and attending activities.
During this transition period, we all run the risk of being exposed to, and ultimately getting infected with the Coronavirus.
With this increased risk, mask-wearing is now considered to be an essential part of our defence against COVID-19 infection. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted by top medical professionals in December 2020, and it unequivocally revealed the importance of correct mask-wearing.
“...the reality is that a lot has changed about what we know since April 2020, and a huge amount of verifiable evidence continues to emerge about the benefits of masks for everyone in the community. ”
But we must remember that not all masks are created equal when it comes to their effectiveness in protecting us from exposure. Below is a great chart that clearly shows the differences in efficacy between a cloth mask, surgical mask and the N95/KN95 respirator masks.
It’s important that the timings on the table are not read as gospel, but rather a tool to demonstrate how effective the different kinds of masks can be.
This data is also based on the alpha strains of Sars-Cov-2, so it is also possible that the timings will be less now that the more transmissible omicron strain is present in our community.
But even so, there is a clear winner for protection against covid: the KN95 mask.
As you can see, the KN95 is consistently the most effective mask when protecting yourself from infection when you are within 6 feet of an infected person. When the infected person is also wearing a KN95 mask, it is even possible to be safe in their presence for between 250 - 2,500 hours!
Kia Kaha Chemist is committed to helping to keep our community at its healthiest, so we have worked to make the KN95 masks readily available in Queenstown and NZ-wide to help give you the best protection against being infected with the coronavirus.
So, if you’re looking to keep you and your whānau the safest as we transition through phase three / ‘living with covid’: invest in some K95 masks from Kia Kaha Chemist today, while stocks last!