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Comment by auxym | Hacker News Reader

Last I checked in Canada, N95 masks are still about 3$ a pop for disposable, single use masks from industrial distributors. Pre pandemic, we bought 3M 8210s for about 15 cents in boxes of 160. I wouldn't call the current situation available and cheap.

Oh, and if you thought surgical masks were mildly uncomfortable, N95s are an order of magnitude worst. They pretty much need a perfect seal with your face and the 3Ms use a really tight rubber band to achieve that. 2 bands, actually.

I currently work on site and wear surgical masks all day, it's fine. Not sure I would want to do the same if it was N95s.

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3M 8210s are US $26 for 20 now. $1.30 per mask seems pretty reasonable to me, but I've never bought them in industrial quantities so don't have that anchor.

I've worn N95s for hours (actually P95s which have a nicer seal) and I agree that they're less comfortable than less effective alternatives. But it is a bit curious that people are concerned enough to be wearing their homemade mask alone in a car or walking outside by themselves but are unwilling to endure the slight additional discomfort of a known effective mask.

> a known effective mask.

...if you got a real one, and not one of the less effective fakes.

I wear mine alone in the car or on the sidewalk frequently.

Not because I'm "afraid" but because I'm too lazy to take it on and off between every stop I'm going to make.

This attitude that people are wearing masks alone because they're afraid and/or stupid is toxic.

Not to mention fervently touching mask surface that could be contamination might not be a good idea, especially if there is a chance you might then touch your eyes.

Grant me the steel man. What's the mental model of the people wearing them outside on a walk in the woods or on a beach? Not the inconvenience of taking them off between stops at the bank and the drug store.

I don't know, but who cares. Maybe for pollen and dust allergies.

Part of the problem is everyone feels the need to judge others. Why does it bother you that people wear masks on the beach? Why can't you just let them be?

I don't care what the others are doing per se. In fact, I think it's optimal if everyone else would wear a mask all the time.

What bothers me is that the sort of inconsistency I described is emblematic of the same muddled thinking that the CDC has demonstrated throughout. This is a problem for a number of reasons.

When people don't understand the reasoning behind a policy they are less likely to comply with it and it will lead to excess deaths.

Another reason is that, if no explanation or an incoherent explanation is given for a recommendation, people have to decide whether to follow it based solely on trust or the authority of the recommender. I don't think either of these is good for the long term health of society. You can see how this problem has manifested itself in the resistance of many people to being vaccinated or wearing masks.

The discomfort is a sign that they may work.

Not proof--but a sign.

They are expensive, and I do not reccommend wearing them. I do not reccommend doing anything, expecially anything that has a high chance of bringing unknown costs.

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