Vented Fabric Facemasks

[MashedPotatoBrainz]

I've seen a lot of these around lately and I'm wondering why. Rishi Sunak was seen sporting one and I've just seen Trump posing in one too.

My understanding of mask is that fabric ones and surgical ones protect the people around you from what you exhale. They don't protect you from infection. You're reliant on those around you also wearing masks.

FFP masks protect the you from infection but don't protect those around you. They're usually vented so you don't suffocate because they seal around your face to stop you being infected. What you exhale goes straight out through the vent.

So a vented fabric mask doesn't protect the user and it doesn't protect those around them. So what's the point?

I just think people don't do the research before buying and wearing their masks. I've seen some shockers in links people have posted to threads. There have been masks made of knit material with sizeable holes in them and stretchy fabric isn't really the best, despite many masks being made of it.

It is always going to be a compromise between how well they work and how long people can tolerate wearing them for.

NERVTAG say that the risk associated with droplets crossing exhalation valves in miniscule. Most droplets will still be caught inside the respirator, and the valve itself usually has some sort of cowling which could catch some droplets too.

Doesnt the vent have some sort of carbon in it to stop infected air getting out?

And the valves aren't there to prevent suffocation - you can breathe in and out through the filter material - they help a bit with thermal comfort and are meant to be easier to breathe out, so reducing fatigue.

A lot of people just buy what is cheap.

Also do the vents just make it easier to breathe?

Respirators don't usually have a carbon layer unless they are dealing with gases or vapours, FFP3s are particulate filters which trap viral particles in the filter material as the wearer breathes in.

Also do the vents just make it easier to breathe?

That's the idea, yes.