SBCEO
Source: Santa Barbara County Office of Education
Santa Barbara County Education Office is distributing 276,480 adult-sized N95 masks received from the state to county public school districts, charter schools, and private schools for voluntary use by students and staff. Each school and district will develop its own procedure for making the masks available.
N95 masks offer the highest level of protection against COVID-19, including the Omicron variant, because their snug fit to the face does not leave a gap for airborne particles to enter. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), N95 masks filter out at least 95% of airborne particles.
State regulations require school staff and students age two and older to wear face coverings indoors on school campuses. However, the use of N95 masks is voluntary. Families and employees may decide what type of mask they prefer.
“The N95 masks we’ve received are high-quality, well-fitting, and protective,” said Dr. Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools. “We appreciate the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) for helping us provide our families and staff with this sought-after option of protection.”
Debbie Breck, SBCEO Internal Services Administrator, said that N95 masks are “another important tool we are offering to keep schools operating safely.”
Sounds like you and your kids aren’t wearing them properly then. Here is a little refresher for you: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/04/9662080/nurse-n95-bruises-face-mask
https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/newsroom/analysis/covid-19-how-to-avoid-skin-damage-while-wearing-ppe-160451
https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-doctors-and-nurses-on-the-frontlines-of-coronavirus-2020-3
Most kids in school are wearing the same cheap cloth mask day after day. There are a few kn95’s, but it’s few and far between.
An N95 designation is about the filtration ability of the mask. There are different styles of mask (cup, boat, bi-fold) that have the N95 designation.
The BYD masks in the boxes in photo are not a cup style N95 so they probably won’t cause bruising and blistering. And proper PPE for a healthcare worker amongst very sick COVID positive people is different than people in a classroom. If you are saying you won’t wear an N95 because they don’t fit right for you I would urge that you investigate the different styles of N95 masks, and even look into the very wearable boat style Korean KF94 masks that even though they have to pass one percent lesser filtration (94% vs 95%) usually filter far above.
3M makes many different styles of N95 masks, the most comfortable are the Aura 9205+ and if you can find it the super breathable 3M V Flex 9105.
There’s a mechanical engineer whose specialty is aerosols, Aaron Collins aka the Mask Nerd, who has a lot of info on YouTube. He tests masks and has a document listing the results. Most important is the filtration and breathability listed on the document.
Find your perfect non-cloth mask, it’s out there.
This is an interesting new development. Many folks here who are proponents of masks have started saying the cloth masks we have been required to wear for the last couple of years, like the ones in the photo with this article, are basically useless and that we need N95s. However, the push to require these types of masks has been slow. Below is a fascinating article from the Atlantic about masks in schools and the studies that have been done to evaluate the impact school masking has had.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/kids-masks-schools-weak-science/621133/
Remember all the pictures of health care workers with bruised and blistered faces? That’s what you’re face looks like after wearing a properly fitted N95 mask for several hours. Is that what you want your kids face to look like after everyday at school? If they don’t look like that when they come home, then they aren’t wearing them properly and this is just another security blanket to assist with peoples feelings and fear vs. actually reducing transmission.
@MADHATTER Thank you for your extraordinarily sensible comment.
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1075842341/growing-calls-to-take-masks-off-children-in-school
Wow! I’m really surprised to see NPR make the case that masks are harmful to children. Raising those concerns was unthinkable as recently as a few months ago.
Yes, it’s great to see the “narrative” catching up to what many people have known for over a year. We are one of the few countries masking children and mandating they take a vaccine that provides little to any benefit for them. Crazy that people would force an injection on a kid, not to protect the kid, but in an attempt to protect adults.
2:54 – Maybe someone who knows nothing about epidemiology shouldn’t speculate.
Dukemunson, if you are interested in mask options for kids then definitely check out the Mask Nerd’s YouTube videos (his Twitter too). He talks about different brands, tests and tells you where to get good kid size masks. His school age child is mainly why he started doing all his mask research. There are options out there for kid specific KN95 and KF94.
There are no kid specific N95 options because you have to remember that in the US the N95 is technically a respirator for occupational situations and was not created for the general public, let alone kids at work. This is different than how the KF94 was created in South Korea specifically for the consumer market (I think due to the 2015 MERS outbreak).
P.S. regarding Denmark, yes they are loosening restrictions, but don’t be misled into thinking that means Covid isn’t spreading around anymore. Denmark is seeing very high numbers of positive cases recently, however, the key point is that the hospitals have been able to manage.
Happy masking!
Mad hatter – my interests lie more in wanting my kids to wear masks as little and seldom as possible… but thanks for the info! We did find a k94 for the oldest as her sport was requiring it as she runs around (crazy!!) and she found it more comfortable than the k95.