One difference is that they were figuring out how to manage shortages and distribution for the masks that they were making and actively verifying to their own standards. For adults you could argue that we have a parallel situation with N95s, but for kids we’ve got nothin. No standards, no monitoring, no established methods of distribution. The US can’t effectively manage shortages or distribution of high filtration masks for kids because we have no high filtration masks for kids of our own.
Yes, Aaron Collins (a.k.a. TheMaskNerd) covers this in his summary video actually - in the U.S. we just have the NIOSH, which is focused on occupational safety and health, whereas the Korean KF94 standard was meant for the general population.
(the whole video is a good primer, but you can jump to 5:05 for the part where he talks about standards and regulatory bodies)
Yes, it’s a great video! And his database is really helpful too. I’m amazed at his generosity in putting so much mask info together. You can tell he’s really invested a lot of time and effort.
Edited to add:
And this circles around to my earlier point, that 2 years into this the US hasn’t developed standards for high-filtration masks meant to be worn by laypeople of all ages. I think we should have.
DS13s just got their boosters at CVS Target pharmacy without an issue. I did hear that all the local CVS’s are short staffed. We also go to this pharmacy for prescriptions and they are backed up. I make sure to order mine a week ahead of time.
So some of the cancellations occurring could be a staffing issue at this point.
Update on CVS and boosters: my DS13 was able to get his Pfizer booster no problem. We never did get a good answer as to why they cancelled DS15 for the same shot, except that the computer sometimes overbooks (I suppose like a flight) and then they have to thin the herd by dropping some appts. I’m not convinced of that but it doesn’t matter anymore. I managed to get an appt today for DS15 at a different pharmacy though so now we’ve gotten what we wanted, just very inconveniently.
Try Vida masks. It tool a while but they fit ds8 nicely.
Also, my turn. Was fine at 5p yesterday. Itchy throat at 6, by 7 sore and congested. I did nose and throat swab pand rapid was pos at 730. More later, head is hurting too badly to type much.
Just an FYI, in the past they sometimes substitute “M95” masks. Here’s what NBC had to say about it last August:
Popular face mask brand VIDA modified its product descriptions for KN95 face masks at some point in August, telling customers at the end of it, “You may receive an M95 mask, which is a USA-made mask that is equivalent in protection to the KN95,” stating this is a result of “global shortages.”
…VIDA doesn’t tell customers about the switch and that you may buy the KN95 mask and receive the M95 mask without any notice regarding your order.
“The swap occurs only on an as-needed basis when our supplier is out of stock of the KN95 masks,” VIDA told us in an email…
VIDA says that M95 face masks are “functionally the same” on an FAQ page, and noted in an email to us that all masks have undergone “comprehensive tests” — VIDA published these tests on its site. Regardless, medical experts we spoke to said they’ve never heard of the M95 mask — none could confirm to us that they’re interchangeable with KN95 masks.
Personally, it made me a little suspicious. On the flip side, one could also argue that KN95 is rather poorly regulated, so if they wanted to be fraudulent it might be easier to just do so under the radar rather than labeling the M95 masks differently. Also, I don’t see that language on their product descriptions right now. It’s worth being aware of, though.
It kind of weirded me out, though. I wish the company had explained why they couldn’t just make more KN95s and instead seemed to come up with their own designation for the supposedly functionally identical masks that they were selling.
Like I said, I don’t currently see the language on the product pages saying that they might substitute M95s for the KN95s. Personally, if I were to order from them I’d check for that language first. YMMV. I’m no expert!
Covid sure is weird! DS1 tested positive a week ago with home test and was confirmed with PCR. I took PCR with him on Wednesday and was negative and did a home test yesterday, negative! His only symptom is being crabby it seems, no fever and minimal cough.
Meanwhile DW took home test yesterday and is positive and seemingly asymptomatic! DD8 also tests negative so is it just a matter of time until we get it too?!
Maybe. Maybe not. I have friends where everyone in the house got it and some where one or multiple house members never tested positive.
A couple examples: One of my best friends (middle aged, cancer survivor, overweight) escaped without testing positive despite sleeping in the same bed as his sick wife for 3 nights (her rapid was negative so they didn’t take precautions until her PCR results come back positive 4 days later). Also, 2 of his 3 kids tested positive. Note - All 5 in the family were fully vaccinated, but my friend was the only one to have a booster (about 3 weeks before his family got sick).
Another friend’s family of 4 all tested positive within days of the first positive in his family.
Yup, we lived with my niece of 4 days before she tested positive. My 3 family members managed to escape without catching it (somehow - it still seems crazy to me that we can be in that close of quarters for that long of time and not catch it).
The US can’t effectively manage shortages or distribution of high filtration masks for kids because we have no high filtration masks for kids of our own.
