Filters & masks to avoid devastating long covid

[Custardish]

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/26/covid-roulette-clean-air-ventilation-long-covid

I have (very) long covid and I am terrified of getting another covid infection and my health deteriorating even further.

I think filters and masks are a reasonable step to avoid getting more ill, and more people getting long covid. AIBU?

To the person who commented - it’s ridiculous to install HEPA filters in response to one single virus:

note this study published 19th August: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417023000872

AIDS. Caused by a single virus. A Sexual revolution ensued. Condoms became a normal practice. Imagine how much harder it was to change people’s sexual practices than do something as simple as wear a mask or install filters in public spaces.

The technology exists and cheaply - I can’t understand peoples resistance to breathing clean air!

If you want to wear a mask, crack on - it's a free country. But don't expect other people to do that, because there's no evidence that they are effective - indeed, at one point, Scotland still had mask rules when England didn't and the Scots also still had higher transmission levels than England 😂

Think Covid- think airborne
Think Covid - think AIDS

Key finding states that COVID reduces immune response, infecting white blood cells,

• allows disease persistence indefinitely
• causing an Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Let that sink in.

Absolutely.

But you can't insist others do likewise.

That’s a weird article, it has spelling errors and I’m not sure about the journal. Just to point out it’s not the BMJ people would think of seeing that, it’s a foreign journal called the biomedical journal. It’s slightly misleading to me in that it does not claim covid gives you AIDS the well known virus but that repeated exposure lowers your immune system response from what I can read wuickly at this time of the morning!

nyway how’s filters woukd be good for hayfever too wouldnt they? However I respect your right to wear a mask and I hope you respect my right not to.

Sorry I need coffee of course HIV is the virus and AIDS is the symptoms.

A lot of people very pre-occupied with masks here.

Don’t you want air-filtration for everyone so that nobody has to wear a mask?

My point is: If it’s good enough for the Houses of Parliament, the G7 in Davos, and the White House, it should be in every classroom, hospital ward and public transport system.

HEPA is all of those places means no masks required.

Well, the OP put masks in the title so it's no great shock! She's arguing for both filters and masks, not filters instead of masks, and people have responded to that. I say this as someone who'd really like air quality measures.

The link above is from Science Direct- you need an Athens login to access the full article. It is a medical library online for medical professionals and students and researchers. It has since been published in a lot of different medical journals, the previous link was the original study publication.

Here is is again: published in infection-control today quoting the NIH (National Institute for Health) that is a UK governing body.

https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/covid-19-study-suggests-long-term-damage-immune-system

I want clean air in every classroom, medical facility, public transport. For £50 every classroom could be safe from seasonal illnesses.

I'm surprised that such a famous ecologist as Monbiot wants the environmental harm of paper masks and electric-powered ventilation systems

Thanks for your comment- I’m pleased some people take an interest in research trials, but it genuinely is a legit study, the original linked article is from Science Direct if you open the link, but you will need an Athens password to access it so I have also included some other reprint versions in another comment if you are interested in COVID mechanisms specifically.

My purpose was to encourage people to look at alternative technologies like HEPA filters to help everyone access shared spaces safely - and not need to rely on masks. And to debunk the idea that infection improves immunity or immune health- it doesn’t.

HEPA filters demonstrate really good performance in schools for reducing illness and absence and improving teacher retention… ie a more normal life.

Here is an extract from the Class-ACT study chapter 9 ( you can find the full report online) showing how HEPA helps in spaces with shared air.