Teacher’s Say
Are you double masking and why or why not are you choosing to do so?
January 28, 2022
For every issue, the Crusader asks several Bonita Vista High (BVH) teachers a question about a topic that is valuable to the BVH community. With the rise of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, BVH advised students and staff to double mask in order to protect themselves from the spread of the virus. We decided to ask teachers if they decided to take that recommendation from the school and why they made that choice.
“I’m not [wearing] two masks but I’m wearing an N95, so it protects [me from] 95 percent of virus particles. Unfortunately, I see students wear cloth masks or masks that [don’t] fully [cover] their face, which is a concern for me. My own children wear N95 masks, I wear N95, and so does my wife.”
“As long as I am wearing a K95 or an N95, I am not choosing to wear two masks because the guidance [from the Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC)] shows you do not need to. I would recommend students to wear two masks if they do not have an N95 or K95 mask.”
“I’m not double masking. I’m using a single mask and the reason I am doing so is from what I’ve read online, it’s not really proven to be that much more effective. There has been research [on it] and I think double masking is uncomfortable. Speaking in class with the mask on makes it harder to breathe.”
“700, 350, 642 new cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of Thursday, Jan. 20. One in five people are affected, so wear a mask! Double-mask just to be safe. When I see someone without their mask on I throw it [COVID-19 stuffed animal] at them.”
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Mike Scott • Feb 2, 2022 at 11:17 am
The use of masks has bothered me for several reasons:
Under Occupational Health & Safety Rules it is illegal for employers expose worker to a Hazardous Environment, above 1,500 ppm CO2 levels (Atmospheric is 375 to 400 ppm), or below 19.5% Oxygen levels (Atmospheric Oxygen is 20.9%).
OSHA Safety Officers have measured Oxygen levels at 17.4% behind an N95 mask with an IBRID 6 Gas Monitor.
Del Bigtree, Medical Research Journalist measured CO2 levels between 8,000 to 10,000 ppm behind a cloth mask and over 10,000 ppm behind an N95 mask which is Hazardous Environment
OSHA Experts have openly reported that face masks are hazardous to the health of those wearing them, but are rountinely ignored by Governments around the world who passed these OSHA Laws based on 50 plus years of scientific research.
Since when are Governments exempt from following the laws they legislate?
Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon explains that low oxygen levels cause hypoxia, and can damage the immune system lowering T-lymphocytes that fight viral infections.
Cloth masks filter at best to 5 micron, the covid-19 virus is reported to be .06 to .12 micron. In other words the openings in a cloth mask are 50 to 100 times larger than the covid-19 virus.
Imagine a screen door with opening 50 to 100 times larger than a mosquito, how would that keep the mosquitoes out the house! Truth does not matter in this 2020-2021
Conclusion – If you care for an at risk person in your home, absolutly do what you have to inorder to protect them, it’s your decision. As for children and risk / benifit analysis, history will be the judge, and the excuses “we did not know” are not going to fly when compared to damage caused by ignorance, lack of congative thinking, or “just following orders.”
1) Potential Cognitive Harm: Randomized, Controlled studies on slightly elevated CO2 levels of 1000 to 2500 ppm show significant decreases in cognitive functioning. The long-term implications for this are unclear.
2) Little to no Benefit: Non-medical masks have been shown to block droplets, but actually increase fine aerosol emissions. Even medical grade surgical masks are equivocal in randomized, controlled studies. The masks seem more designed to show something is being done than to actually reduce virus transmission. It seems that the health of school children is possibly being harmed to give the appearance of doing something.
References:
CO2: 1) News Article on This Study: Savchuk, K. “Your Brain on Carbon Dioxide: Research Finds Even Low Levels of Indoor CO2 Impair Thinking.” California Magazine (2016). https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/summer-2016-welcome-there/your-brain-carbon-dioxide-research-finds-even-low
2) Satish, U., Mendell, M., et al. Is CO2 an Indoor Pollutant? Direct Effects of Low-to-Moderate CO2 Concentrations on Human Decision-Making Performance Environmental Health Perspectives, 120:12 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104789.
3) Allen, J.G., MacNaughton, P.et al. Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol 124, No 6, (2016). https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510037
Lack of Effectiveness:
4) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3349234