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Comment by ravenstine | Hacker News Reader

I just wish that people who get infected would wear a freaking mask when going out in public. I've heard that masks don't do much for people who aren't infected, but I imagine a mask would catch a lot of the droplets that come out of someone's mouth when they cough.

I've never been more glad to live alone.

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In the state of Georgia it's actually illegal to wear a mask in public/on private property without permission. I think they consider it a security concern, which makes sense in some situations. But really sucks for trying to not spread sickness. On the plus side, I've noticed a lot of doctor's waiting rooms have a sign saying you can ask for a mask if you have XYZ symptoms. But I wish it was common at work, too. For the same reason I wish handshakes weren't so common in business. I'm pretty sure I know the exact moment the flu was passed to me this year.

"(a) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor when he wears a mask, hood, or device by which any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer and is upon any public way or public property or upon the private property of another without the written permission of the owner or occupier of the property to do so."[1]

[1] https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-16/chapter-1...

Have there been studies that show the masks are effective? I'm just curious is all not trying to knock you down.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/face-masks-flu/

> McDevitt and his colleagues screened 89 volunteers, 37 of whom tested positive for the flu and were asked to provide exhaled breath samples with and without a surgical mask. Among the volunteers, 43% exhaled large influenza-containing particles while not wearing a mask, compared to 11% while wearing a mask; 92% exhaled small influenza-containing particles while not wearing a mask, compared to 78% while wearing a mask. In addition, they found that the flu virus was 8.8 times more numerous in exhaled small particles than in large particles.

From what I understand that suggests that surgical masks are only slightly effective. But that study only tests surgical masks that don't filter particles less than 0.5 microns, and not N95 masks which can filter out particles as small as 0.3 microns.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2012/04/lab-study...

> A US-Chinese team of researchers created a simulated examination room with mechanized mannequins spaced 6 feet apart to represent coughing and breathing humans. They found that flu viruses floated between the two and were "inhaled" by the breathing mannequin, but that an N95 respirator sealed to the mannequin's face stopped 99.8% of them.

If that's accurate, it's pretty incredible. Out of paranoia I've sometimes worn surgical masks for viral transmission to the office during flu season, but it looks like I should be visiting Home Depot instead of Walgreens.

I've heard (and seen) that in JP, people wear masks to protect other people from sickness. That said, I don't think I've seen an example of a debilitatingly sick person wearing a mask; only their caregivers wear masks. A seriously sick person has no ability to receive the training and certification to wear an N95 mask.

Besides infected people are contagious before they're symptomatic so no one would know to suggest they wear a mask. Early warning nasal swab? Pillow mounted HEPA filter? I'm not sure we know about enough about transmission to really understand how to prevent it...

"A seriously sick person has no ability to receive the training and certification to wear an N95 mask." What does that mean?

The catch to this is there is substantial reason to believe that non-exposure can actually make you more subsceptible later on, so it’s better to just get the flu to stay on pace with antigens for future strains.

Does the flu vaccine count as exposure?

that is exactly what the vaccine is. exposure to a inactivated flu virus.

then, lots of research and crossed fingers that hope any flu's you are exposed to are the ones that you vaccinated against.

That may be true for many people, but what about young children and the elderly?

> The catch to this is there is substantial reason to believe that non-exposure can actually make you more subsceptible later on

Don't flu shots work by giving you a mini-flu?

Only the nasal spray flu vaccines contain live virus.

The CDC is recommending against the nasal spray this season, so chances are you'll get a shot, which contains only dead virus, which can't cause anything you'd describe as "mini flu" as a result.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.ht...

The nasal vaccine has been deprecated for a long time now, I'm not sure you can get it anywhere ATM.

The flu shot seems to put me a bit under the weather for a couple of days after I get it. I don't have the flu, but I'm not 100% either.

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