(2021-01-13) Tufekci Why Aren't We Wearing Better Masks?

Zeynep Tufekci: Why Aren't We Wearing Better COVID-19 Masks? We’d hoped that by 2021 supply chains would have ramped up enough to ensure that everyone had better masks. Cloth masks, especially homemade ones, were supposed to be a stop-gap measure. Why are so many of us still wearing them?

Tragically, America is swamped with fraudulent medical-grade masks, some of which are only 1 percent effective.

the supply situation apparently remains so dire that the CDC still “does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators,” because they’re crucial supplies that must continue to be reserved for health-care workers and other first responders.

Not all countries have this problem. Taiwan massively scaled up its manufacturing of masks at the start of 2020, such that by April every citizen received a fresh supply of high-quality masks each week, and the distribution system was regulated by the government

Fixing this problem is more urgent now that a new variant of the coronavirus, known as the B.1.1.7 lineage, is making its way around the world.

Ideally we would have ramped up supply and been able to produce and distribute certified higher-filtration masks to the whole population. At a minimum, we should have created a certification program and a distribution channel that allows people to purchase higher-grade masks with confidence

We need the CDC and the FDA to step up and provide simple, clear, actionable, and specific information that would allow the public to know which masks are reliable and where they can get them

A good supply of KN95 masks is available from China, with many supermarkets and pharmacies now selling them for a couple of dollars each.