He had similar comments on his podcast last week (text)
by Father Nieuwland (2021-08-02 16:03:09)

In reply to: Just an FYI, Osterholm came out today and  posted by Steelhop


Partial text, full transcript available at the link:

I just want to add one last context on masking. I know that I'm not in the mainstream on this issue. Every time I hear this term masking, it's like for me nails on the chalkboard because we are not giving our citizens the information they need and deserve. We've already pointed out on multiple occasions the limits that face cloth coverings and surgical masks play in reducing the actual transmission of this virus. The studies that have been done have been largely flawed in this regard. In the meantime, the use of N95 respirators or KN95 approved respirators could have a dramatic impact and even the availability of N95 or KN95 and now we have even KN95 respirators available for children. I wish we would talk about not masking but talking about what needs to be done. So I am very, very strong supporter of respiratory protection. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an antimasker at all, just the opposite. But I'm saying use the materials that will actually protect you. As I pointed out before, we know that if you use a face cloth covering, you may get five to 10 minutes additional protection in a room where the virus is present than if you wore nothing at all. That's not a real margin of safety. N95 respirators may give you well under 25 to 30 hours of protection. So I want to get us off of just masking and that's this whole focus, the last 24 hours or 36 hours about masking. Have you seen anybody mentioning about, by the way, don't wear it under your nose that chin diaper? Again, we continue to see up to 25 percent of people wearing a mask under their nose. As I've said so many times, it's like fixing three of the five screen doors in your submarine. So I hope we get this message out. We can right now greatly reduce transmission, if people are using N95s. They are abundantly available your hardware stores, online ordering sites, etc. They are available. So I hope we promote good respiratory protection, not just the concept of masking, and that could have a real important difference right now.