Dr. Scott Jensen, MD: Use of Masks is ‘Looney Tunes’

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– When it comes to masks, this much is about a meter.
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This much is about a millimeter.
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When we talk about masks, we have to talk about microns.
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And typically, if you look at an N95 mask,
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what that does, is it filters out 95% of particulate matter
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larger than .3 microns.
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Well, the question then is how big is a COVID particle?
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And a COVID particle is about .1 micron.
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So we know that even an N95 mask
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has tremendous limitations.
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Yes, it does help some, because COVID particles will,
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if you’ll will, coalesce and coagulate
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almost as they come into the magnetized
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or electrified field of the N95 mask.
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But the bottom line is a surgical mask or a cloth mask
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are really designed only for particulate matter
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greater than five microns.
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Typical bacteria are one to 20 microns.
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So when we wear surgical masks in surgery,
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we’re simply trying to make sure that if we sneeze,
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cough, or something, we’re not spraying
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a lot of bacteria into the place we’re doing surgery.
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But this idea of people thinking
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that they’re doing something particularly useful
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with a cotton mask or a handkerchief
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or a homemade mask or a surgical mask
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is just looney tunes.
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(dramatic music)