Tldr version? I got through 3 minutes, but, like, cut to the chase!
No, you read it.
Mustn’t be a very good article if it can’t be summarized 
Too interesting that a summarization will miss too much.
Here is one conclusion, but based on all the work done by the people in the article:
ON FRIDAY, APRIL 30, the WHO quietly updated a page on its website. In a section on how the coronavirus gets transmitted, the text now states that the virus can spread via aerosols as well as larger droplets. As Zeynep Tufekci noted in The New York Times, perhaps the biggest news of the pandemic passed with no news conference, no big declaration. If you weren’t paying attention, it was easy to miss.
Yeah, that’s a very long article. Here’s the TL;DR, with a little bit of editorializing from me. I haven’t read this article (although I just skimmed a lot of it), but NPR did a piece covering most of the same ground that I happened to hear a couple months ago.
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WHO made a big deal of whether the particles that carry covid are more or less than 5 microns. That’s a “traditional” cut-off between aerosols and particles in medical stuff.
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The physics of assuming that particles larger than 5 microns don’t hang in the air is all wrong. And in fact, the WHO promulgates air pollution standards that recognize that larger particles can be suspended for a long time and travel long distances. So the 5 micron thing never made sense
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historically, the 5 micron cut-off was based on some important studies with tuberculosis. But TB doesn’t get into the body through any-old cell. It typically infects a particular type of lung cell that is very deep in the lungs, and particles larger than 5 microns don’t get deep enough into the lungs to infect those cells. So it’s a meaningful medical cut-off. It’s just not relevant to covid. But because of the importance of TB, the definition of “airborne” for medical purposes was set by the TB standard.
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partly, doctors are stubborn, and don’t believe in listening to people from other disciplines. But mostly it was a political thing. The WHO didn’t want to recommend costly measures like N95 masks and regulating air pressure when they knew that a lot of member nations couldn’t afford to take those precautions. (This is where I start editorializing about how WHO has been problematic from the start of the pandemic.)
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So it took a really long time for the medical establishment, and especially the WHO, to admit that this is an airborne illness, and that airborne precautions matter.
A bunch of countries looked at the data and ignored the WHO. Most of Asia did so. The US, sadly, didn’t.
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@Lucy, that is a very good summary.
The scientist whose work seemed to ultimately lead to the 5 micron cutoff actually had determined it was more like 100 microns. Which is where masks actually start to make a lot of sense.
I just read most of the article. I liked the bit about “the school of public hygiene”, and the tension between “modern” doctors who believed in the importance of hand-washing and “old fashioned” ideas about diseases being spread by miasmas. If you go back a bit in time, there was an enormous emphasis on ventilation and fresh air to treat the sick. We should probably reconnect with those ideals. (And continue washing our hands. But that’s not the be-all and the end-all.)
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just got these delivered yesterday. i wore one in the office for a few minutes while in the break room. they seem pretty good. i like how they have the adjustable thing to my noise. not all mine have that. seems key to not fog up glasses. i also love how they are individually wrapped! when i bring disposable masks with me, it’s a tiny pain to have to get a zip lock bag for them. with these i don’t have to.
i don’t entirely get why these are considered better than cloth masks. they do fit better to my nose though than the cloth masks i have.
The pores are very small, and the interior material holds an electrostatic charge to attract and hold viral particles.
ah, so good to wear on a flight next week? probably what i’ll use.
still nobody assigned to the seat next to me in either direction!
I keep seeing people wear a mask right up until they are about to speak, then take the mask off to speak. This seems incredibly dumb to me since speaking increases how much moisture you emit out your mouth.
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If they’re speaking into a microphone that’s okay, according to my governor, although it’s probably better if they’re eating at the same time, too.
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It should be a good choice. They aren’t as good as a properly fitted N95, but properly fitting N95s takes a little skill, and a selection of different masks to pick the best one. They are better than ill-fitted N95s, because they are designed for consumers, not professionals, and they are tested to be fairly easy to fit well-enough.
actually, found something bad about them. they are too large on me. they are good if i’m looking straight ahead, but if i look down and my chin presses on the extra it creeps up into my eyes.
Just curious: for those of you using N95s or similar respirators, have you had a proper medical evaluation prior to using them [per or similar to OSHA reg. 1910.134(c)(1)(ii)] ?
I’ve become an expert at installing child car seats which feels similar. But I have an increasingly egregious number of children and have tested nearly every combination of seating arrangements in our minivan.
I don’t think that applies to most people using N95’s since they aren’t required as part of an employer required policy. If the employer policy only requires “masks” then it doesn’t seem this definition even if the employee chooses to mask up with an N95 respirator.
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Do you mean a fit test? I’ve done fit testing for select clients. I don’t think personal use falls under the OSHA guideline.
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I mean a medical exam, as described in this interpretation document
Yes, I get that OSHA guidelines don’t apply to personal use, but their guidelines are required to be followed in workplaces that mandate respirators for a reason.
But regular workplaces aren’t mandating respirators are they?
Most COVID mask mandates I have heard about simply require a mask, any mask, even those cloth masks usually are enough to comply.
I haven’t seen the OSHA mandates for vaccines or the mitigation requirements for those who are not vaccinated but even then, I highly doubt they are going to require respirator grade masks, if the rules include mask mandates at all.
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