Millions of people in the US started buying face masks in 2020, and companies, surprisingly, rushed to take advantage of the increase in demand for a new product. At CES 2021, the machine of the machine was fully displayed. The leader of the package was Razer’s transparent voice-enhancing, lightweight concept mask. AirPop has promoted its Active + Smart Mask, which monitors users’ breathing speed and alerts via a smartphone app when the filter of the mask needs to be changed. Binatone’s MaskFone has built – in earbuds and a microphone for calls.
Making masks a status symbol is nothing new, nor does it use a disaster to make money. Before the pandemic, people wore masks to protect against air pollution, and these are fashion items in China and India. Even before the pandemic, companies making masks advertised for it began to enter the US market. Last year at CES, Ao Air announced a $ 350 air pollution filter.
Techy masks to protect against COVID-19 are not necessarily bad things. Health officials are doubling the messages to cover your nose and mouth as cases rise across the country, and a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence published this month has once again confirmed that masks work. Razer tells The edge he plans to work with medical experts if he decides to manufacture and sell the mask. The draft mask contains the dangerous and warns against the exhalation valve, but Razer says the mask will have a filter to block virus exhaled by the wearer.
But a gimmick arms race will not necessarily make masks work better. We need better masks for everyone, not just stylish products for people who can afford them. In the United States, almost a year into the pandemic, most people still wear cloth masks, which are better than nothing, but not the best way to block the virus. Washcloth masks were supposed to be a turning point until officials could scale up the production of medical-grade masks, but this never materialized. Meanwhile, Taiwan distributes high-quality masks to citizens, and Germany needs N95-equivalent masks in stores.
Without federal action on masks, people are left alone to find and buy them. There are no good criteria for cloth masks, which makes it difficult to find out who offers the best protection. There are counterfeit medical-grade masks all over the country. It’s a crowded, confusing area, and equipment craves space alongside bracelet masks and rhinestones.
“We regularly get PR pitches for excellent new solutions as well as snake oil remedies, and we sometimes have trouble distinguishing them – how should an ordinary person judge competitive demands?” Zeynep Tufekci and Jeremy Howard wrote in The atlantic ocean.
To combat the pandemic, the US needs effective masks to be distributed as public health services. Instead, masks of all kinds are seen and marketed as commercial products. Businesses that sell light masks do not create this problem, and if the flash helps someone put on one, it’s a win. But these flashy contributions highlight just how far we still have to go before we have a simple and effective protection for all.
Here’s what’s going on this week.
Research
The future of the Coronavirus? An irritating childhood infection
After the pandemic ended, COVID-19 could gradually become more like a cold in childhood than a deadly disease, new research suggests. With vaccinations, the transformation can take place quickly. (Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times)
No ICU beds? Expect double the number of deaths in Covid-19.
The risk of death due to COVID-19 is not static. This changes depending on the quality of care that doctors can provide. When the intensive care units are full, people are more likely to die from the disease. (Julia Belluz, Vox)
Covid-19 deaths are the highest they have ever been – and the more contagious variants can make things worse
The new coronavirus strain that has a foothold in the United States is not more deadly, but infected. This is a narrow scenario anyway: faster spread of infections means more and more deaths. (Andrew Joseph, Stat News)
Development
Can you stop social distance if you and your friends have been vaccinated?
Vaccination is not a free pass to act as if the pandemic is over, but as people around you start vaccinating, life will begin to become normal. The transition will take place in phases until the pandemic settles worldwide. (Sigal Samuel, Vox)
J & J’s one-shot Covid vaccine is safe and generates promising immune response in early trial
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the following, and early data show that it can elicit an immune response in just one dose. The company is due to release data on its effectiveness later this month. (Berkeley Lovelace Jr., CNBC)
Perspectives
I’m angry because my chaos probably isolated carefully after one month, probably made me sick. I’m angry because a number of leaders of our country did not want to deal with the annoyance of a mask for several hours. I’m angry because the attack on the Capitol and my subsequent illness have the same cause: my Republican colleagues’ inability to accept facts.
– Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) writes in The Washington Post after being tested positive for COVID-19 following the Capitol riots.
More than numbers
To the more than 93,604,952 people worldwide who tested positive, your path to recovery can be smooth.
To the families and friends of the 2,003,885 people who died worldwide – 390,809 of those in the US – your loved ones will not be forgotten.
Stay safe everyone.