From Newsgroup: alt.bible.prophecy

https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/1q8c00g/this_is_what_weve_been_saying_for_years_face/

Face masks rCyinadequaterCO and should be swapped for respirators, WHO is advised
Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should
wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid
Supported by
theguardian.org
About this content
Kat Lay Global health correspondent
Fri 9 Jan 2026 04.49 EST
Share
Surgical face masks provide inadequate protection against flu-like
illnesses including Covid, and should be replaced by respirator-level
masks rCo worn every time doctors and nurses are face to face with a
patient, according to a group of experts urging changes to World Health Organization guidelines.
There is rCLno rational justification remaining for prioritising or usingrCY the surgical masks that are ubiquitous in hospitals and clinics
globally, given their rCLinadequate protection against airborne
pathogensrCY, they said in a letter to WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
rCLThere is even less justification for allowing healthcare workers to
wear no face covering at all,rCY they said.
At the height of the Covid pandemic an estimated 129bn disposable face
masks were being used around the world every month, by the public and healthcare workers, with surgical masks the most widely available and recommended by most health authorities.
Respirators designed to filter tiny particles rCo such as masks meeting
FFP2/3 standards in the UK or N95 in the US rCo should instead be standard practice for medical interactions, they said.
As additional evidence emerged over the course of the pandemic,
officials in many countries switched to recommending those masks as more effective.
The proposals would result in fewer infections in patients and health professionals, and reduce rates of sickness, absence and burnout in the
health workforce, the authors contended.
The differences between a face mask and a FFP2 respirator
Face masks are loose fitting and designed for one-way protection, to
protect others from coughs and sneezes
The FFP2 respirator is a tight-fitting mask, which creates a facial seal
and filters both inflow and outflow of air
Covers nose and mouth
Tight fit over nose and mouth
WHO recommends a three-layer mask when people can't socially distance
Majority of masks do not have a safety rating
Removes 94% of all particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter or larger Designed to protect the wearer up to the safety rating of the mask
Guardian graphic
Prof Adam Finkel of the University of Michigan School of Public Health,
one of the letterrCOs organisers, said surgical masks were not designed to stop airborne pathogens but rCLinvented to stop doctors and nurses from sneezing into the guts and the hearts of patientsrCY.
Surgical masks are to respirators what the typewriter was to the modern computer, said Finkel, who was chief regulatory official at the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration between 1995 and 2000: rCLObsolete.rCY
The letter came out of discussions at an online conference organised
last year called Unpolitics, looking at the implementation of
evidence-based policies. It was authored by seven clinicians and
scientists, including Finkel, and has been endorsed by almost 50 senior clinicians and researchers, and more than 2,000 members of the public, including clinically vulnerable patients.
There could be rCLoff-rampsrCY, where governments or establishments decide respirators are not necessary, based on factors such as community
infection rates, and ventilation or air filtration devices in a room,
the letter says.
While the suggested guidance would apply only in healthcare settings,
where the risk of infection is higher, it is likely to provoke
controversy. Face masks became a culture war issue during the Covid
pandemic.
In December, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she had been rCLslightly traumatised by all the mask wearing that we had to do during CovidrCY in response to comments by an NHS leader saying people with flu symptoms
rCLmust wearrCY a face mask in public.
The WHO cannot mandate global policies, but the signatories argue that
an update to its infection prevention and control guidelines to
recommend respirators could have a profound impact.
They also suggest that the WHOrCOs procurement infrastructure could help increase access to respirators even in poorer countries, with production
of surgical masks phased down over time.
Surgical masks are still rCLbetter than nothingrCY, Finkel conceded, with studies suggesting they block approximately 40% of Covid-sized particles
in the air, compared with approximately 80% (and up to 98%) for respirators.
He says the comparative reduction in risk can be thought of like falling
off a wall of four inches rather than four feet: rCLYou can still trip and break an ankle at four inches, but yourCOre much better off.rCY
Critics of the grouprCOs arguments point to a lack of randomised
controlled trials showing that physical measures slow the spread of respiratory viruses. Finkel and the other authors say such trials are inherently flawed and misleading, for example because people in a trial
will not wear masks 24/7 and could be exposed to pathogens while unmasked. Instead they say physical tests showing that respirators stop particles, conducted in laboratories, offer sufficient evidence.
FFP2 face masks being tested at Moldex-Metric, a German protective
workwear manufacturer.
View image in fullscreen
FFP2 face masks being tested at Moldex-Metric, a German protective
workwear manufacturer. Photograph: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images
The WHO has been criticised for being slow to describe Covid-19 as
spreading via rCLairbornerCY particles and the letter also calls for it to revisit earlier statements and rCLunambiguously inform the public that it spreads via airborne respiratory particlesrCY.
Prof Trisha Greenhalgh of the University of Oxford, whose research is
cited extensively in the letter and is one of its signatories, said: rCLA
germ that does not get inside someone cannot make them sick. By sealing against the face, respirators force airflow to pass through them,
filtering out the airborne germs. Respirators are designed to fit
closely around the face and meet high filtration standards. Medical
masks, in contrast, fit loosely and leak extensively.rCY
The letterrCOs supporters include members of the World Health Network, prominent US epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, and Guardian columnist
George Monbiot.
A WHO spokesperson said the letter required rCLcareful reviewrCY. They said the organisation consulted widely with experts from different health and economic contexts when producing guidance on personal protective
equipment for health workers, adding: rCLWe are currently reviewing WHOrCOs Infection Prevention and Control guidelines for epidemic and
pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections, based on the latest
scientific evidence to ensure protection of health workers.rCY
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2