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Comment by matz1 | Hacker News Reader

The problem is wearing mask is annoying and uncomfortable. If I have to choose, I'll choose the increased risk of covid all the time rather than wearing mask.

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A big part of why they are annoying and uncomfortable is the lack of one-way valves to make it easier to breath in them. In industry, when you actually need to wear a mask/respirator, they almost always have valves.

Unfortunately, we got stuck on the "wear masks to protect others" narrative, and people who actually were at risk were prevented from wearing much more effective, much more comfortable, masks that would actually work well at protecting them. Eg here in Canada, it's illegal to wear a mask/respirator with a valve on a plane.

Not only that, there is one more thing to carry when you go out and impairment of social interaction because of lack of facial expression.

I don't think it is an unfortunate narrative. two people wearing masks without valves is twice the reduction in likelihood that either one gives the other covid. If someone does have covid the mask without the valve will greatly reduce the concentration of virus particles in the air around them. I think that is working as intended!

Masks that aren't worn correctly tend to have very low efficiencies, because the air just bypasses the mask at the edges. Depends on many factors like the type, how hard you are breathing, etc. But filtering just 20% of the air breathed in is quite possible. And let's face it, people intentionally wear them incorrectly all the time because they suck to wear.

If you and I both have 50% filtration, that's the equivalent of 75% filtration. For the person who is vulnerable, that is much less effective than just wearing a 95% minimum filtration valved N95 mask/respirator properly.

It's just ridiculous that an elderly man on a flight, sitting next to a healthy 15 year old more likely to be killed by a flu infection(1), will be told to take off his valved N95 respirator here in Canada, to protect that 15 year old. I have friends who have seen this happen first hand.

1) https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm

With the typical masks available to and worn by ordinary people, exhalation pressure seems to cause a lot of air to bypass the mask too - except that instead of doing it via a well-designed valve that redirects the airflow somewhere sensible, it blows out the top and steams up glasses or out the sides and towards whoever's standing behind you.

> Unfortunately, we got stuck on the "wear masks to protect others" narrative

Why is that "unfortunate"? Surely discomfort is less important than actually protecting life?

I'm my state we have a choice now and I still wear one most places except the gym. That's where my comfort vs risk threshold crosses. On that note one thing that's odd that I've observed in mixed mask rooms is that I don't like exposing my face to people who aren't exposing theirs. It's like my smile, a sign of peace, can't be reciprocated so I'm making myself vulnerable at their expense. I'll don a mask in mixed mask rooms not because of conformity per se, but what feels like defensiveness. My simian brain is thinking "you don't know if these are friendlies." I'm looking forward to any future psychological studies that explain this phenomenon.

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