Editor’s note: This commentary is by Glenn Fay, of Burlington, who is an educator, consultant and entrepreneur.
During the past week, the CDC and Vermont Department of Health advised us all to wear masks when going out in public. Why are healthy Americans being advised to wear masks now, after being told not to for months?
In 1899, Carl Flügge, who was working with tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases, developed the droplet theory of infection. He demonstrated that even in quiet conversation, minute droplets (later called Flügge droplets) are sprayed in the air. At that time, masks were simply a roller gauze strip covering the mouth. Since then, masks have prevented microbes from being passed from one airway to another for years. This is nothing new if you are a student of life sciences.
Since we have been under “stay home” orders, a new lifestyle is emerging. We need to get outside and walk, play, run, ride, enjoy nature, and forage for food. Never have I seen so many people outside in our greenway areas walking, playing, running, enjoying nature, and foraging for food, sometimes even 6 feet apart. But 6 feet apart might not be enough.
Do you ever notice when you pass by others, especially on a breezy day, even 6 feet apart, you catch a whiff of someone’s fragrance, be it cologne, smoke, mildewy clothing, or other personal olfactory signature? If you do, you are actually inhaling minute particles that impart that odor. These particles include exhaled air, spores, esters, or even Flügge droplets. Not to mention the transmission from talking, as Flügge did, or God forbid, sneezing, coughing, or other expectoration. And a cough or a sneeze aerosol droplet can travel up to 25 feet, and that is not even wind-aided.
The mask will also protect you from inhaling viruses from others. Yes, some of the viruses from another’s breath may get carried off or miss the target of your mouth, nose, or eyes. But if you wear a mask you are lowering the risk that you will be infected.
New estimates show that 25% to 50% of coronavirus carriers don’t even feel sick and can infect others. That’s why doctors and nurses wear masks that are critical to protecting them on the front lines. So why were we told not to use masks unless we were sick and that masks would not protect us?
First, and most importantly, there simply haven’t been enough masks to go around for our overworked medical staff, to say nothing about for the rest of us. It’s also probable the mask supply would vanish through hoarding.
Another reason healthy people have been told not to wear masks is that many people don’t know how to use them. Unless the mask is skin-tight, including being clamped down over the nose, molecules will enter and leave around the mask, making it superfluous. The mask is only as useful as the way it is fitted.
If those reasons aren’t enough, if one wears a mask for any length of time, water vapor in the exhaled breath collects until the interior of the mask becomes wet. This not only makes it yucky but also renders it nonfunctional as well. This is why doctors and nurses need a bountiful supply of masks since they are not easily cleaned, sanitized, and recycled.
Since the commander-in-chief used the Defense Production Act to compel the manufacture of medical supplies, more masks are in the pipeline to our health care workers. Other countries such as Taiwan, that have aggressively fought the virus and won round one are sending millions of masks to the U.S. and other countries. Recently, the New England Patriots flew in a million masks from China. Furthermore, Russia has delivered a planeload. Even if we don’t have enough masks for every American, the experts admit, the protection of even a makeshift mask is better than none.
With new projections that we could see hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. before this is over, there is a realization that we need to do everything we can to slow down the spread of the virus.
Vermont experts are predicting that our cases will peak in mid-April or May. Some states are only now beginning to enact stay-at-home advisories and others are only beginning to experience outbreaks. Like it or not, we are all interconnected and the reinfection cycle from other states and countries could interrupt our success. Some experts predict the stay-at-home orders could go on and off for a long time until a vaccine eradicates the virus years from now. Stephen Kissler of Harvard says we need to prepare for multiple periods of social distancing. In the meantime, let’s hold the hugs and filter the Flügge droplets.