AUSTIN, Texas — Austin health authorities announced the omicron variant as the dominant COVID-19 strain in our area on Dec. 21.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that omicron is more contagious than the delta variant, spreading and doubling every couple of days.
Rising COVID cases in the Austin area have medical experts renewing their plea for mask-wearing, but one consumer group warns that not all facial coverings protect equally against omicron.
The KVUE Defenders took a look.
From the Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky:
"...really continuing to practice those prevention strategies, like masking in indoor settings," said
"...and protect yourself by wearing a mask."
The message is clear – this is the time to arm ourselves.
"And now with omicron, we know it's important to get boosted as well as wearing masks that we know prevent transmission," said Dr. Donald Murphey with the Texas Medical Association's COVID-19 Task Force.
But what type of mask matters, according to Project N95. The national nonprofit connects authentic personal protective equipment to people who need them. Executive Director Anne Miller said it's about quality and fit.
"I think it's really important now, given how many people that we know that have done everything they can to be protected and still gotten COVID. So it's really important that everybody wear high-quality respiratory protection," Miller said.
High quality means the gold standard of masks: the N-95 respirator.
"It's going to filter greater than or equal to 95% as 0.3 micron. You know you're getting protection with that," Miller said.
Miller also said if you can't upgrade to N-95, there are certain models of the K-N-95 masks that are acceptable. It's the same for certain models of the K-F-94.
But she warned you can't just look for these brands without further research, because there are so many counterfeits out there.
On Dec. 17, the CDC updated its page on counterfeit respirators by adding these two fake masks. They claim to be rated by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH. But the CDC said these are misrepresentations. Both masks are made in China.
"We know from the CDC data that upwards of 50, 60, 70% of the masks that they tested last year were substandard or fake," Miller said.
So, how can you tell if the mask you're buying is a real N-95 or an imposter? Miller said one sure-fire way is if the company claims its FDA-approved or if it's registered with the FDA.
"If you see the FDA logo on the box, if you see somebody marketing their product as FDA-approved, that is almost a guarantee that it is a substandard or counterfeit product ... so even saying that your FDA registered and trying to promote that as being like, why you should buy our product, 'We're FDA registered.' If you're registered, you've paid $5,400 to be registered, and that's it. The website says very clearly, the FDA website says that registration does not connote any sort of approval," Miller said.
The bottom of the CDC's counterfeit mask page shows examples of the markings a NIOSH-approved mask should have.
The CDC lists other counterfeit signs. They include:
- No markings at all on the mask
- No approval (TC) number on the mask or headband
- No NIOSH markings
- NIOSH spelled incorrectly
- There's decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons, like sequins
- If they have NIOSH claims of approval for children's masks
- The mask has ear loops instead of headbands.
It's important to note NIOSH does not approve of any type of respiratory protection for children. Project N-95 also vets its masks and all other PPEs on its website.
Miller said they only buy from manufacturers or authorized distributors, and they make sure that the items actually meet the standards that they say they do.
Dr. Murphey said we must be prepared for what's next.
"So we need to be getting ready for another wave of COVID that is more contagious and that spreads more rapidly, and we need to be thinking about how to protect the elderly and anyone who is not healthy," he said
Dr. Murphey also said we do that by wearing masks, getting vaccinated and boosted, and by improving ventilation. It's all in hopes of trying to slow the spread of the latest COVID-19 variant.
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