Millions of people in the United States started buying face masks in 2020 and companies, unsurprisingly, rushed to take advantage of increased demand for a new product. At CES 2021, the mask’s gadget-ification was on full display. Leading the group was Razer’s transparent voice amplification mask and illuminated concept. AirPop promoted its active + smart mask, which monitors users’ breathing rates and alerts them through a smartphone app when the mask filter needs to be changed. Binatone’s MaskFone has built-in earphones and a microphone for phone calls.
Turning masks into a status symbol is nothing new, nor is capitalizing on a disaster to make money. Before the pandemic, people wore masks to protect themselves from air pollution and are fashionable items in China and India. Also before the pandemic, mask companies announced for this purpose were beginning to enter the American market. Last year at CES, Ao Air announced a $ 350 air pollution filtering gadget.
Technical masks for protection against COVID-19 are not necessarily bad things. Health officials are folding messages to cover their nose and mouth as cases arise across the country, and an extensive review of the scientific evidence published this month confirmed, once again, that the masks work. Razer said The Verge plans to work with medical experts if he decides to produce and sell his mask. His concept mask has the dangerous exhalation valve, but Razer says the mask would have a filter to block any virus exhaled by the user.
But an arms race will not necessarily make the masks work better. We need better masks for everyone, not just stylish products for people who can buy them. In the United States, almost a year after the pandemic began, most people still wear cloth masks, which are better than nothing, but not the best way to block the virus. Cloth masks were supposed to be a temporary solution until employees could increase the production of medical-grade masks, but that never materialized. Meanwhile, Taiwan is distributing high-quality masks to citizens, and Germany requires N95-equivalent masks in stores.
Without federal action on the masks, people are left on their own to find and buy them. There are no good criteria for fabric masks, which makes it difficult to find out which one offers the best protection. There are fake medical grade masks across the country. It is a confusing and crowded area, and gadgets vie for space alongside bracelet and rhinestone masks.
“We routinely receive public relations proposals for great new solutions, as well as snake oil remedies, and sometimes we have trouble differentiating them – how can an ordinary person evaluate competing claims?” Zeynep Tufekci and Jeremy Howard wrote in The Atlantic.
To combat the pandemic, the United States needs effective masks to be distributed as a public health service. Instead, masks of all types are seen and marketed as commercial products. Companies that sell illuminated masks are not creating this problem, and if the flash helps someone put one on, it is a victory. But these striking contributions only highlight how far we still have to go before we have simple and effective protection for everyone.
Here’s what else is going on this week.
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The future of Coronavirus? An irritating infant infection
After the end of the pandemic, COVID-19 may gradually become more like a childhood cold than a deadly disease, new research suggests. With vaccines, this transformation can happen quickly. (I support Mandavilli, The New York Times)
No ICU beds? Expect double the death toll from Covid-19.
The COVID-19 risk of death is not static. It changes depending on the quality of care that doctors can offer. When intensive care units are full, people are more likely to die from the disease. (Julia Belluz, Vox)
Covid-19 deaths are the highest ever – and the most infectious variants can make things worse
The new strain of coronavirus that is gaining ground in the United States is no longer deadly, but it is more contagious. Either way, it’s a scary scenario: infections that spread faster still mean more deaths. (Andrew Joseph, Stat News)
Development
After you and your friends are vaccinated, can you stop distancing yourself socially?
Being vaccinated is not a free pass to act as if the pandemic is over, but when the people around you start to get vaccinated, life will begin to return to normal. The transition will take place in stages until the pandemic is established worldwide. (Sigal Samuel, Vox)
The One-shot Covid vaccine from J&J is safe and generates a promising immune response in initial tests
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is next in the pipeline, and the first data show that it can generate an immune response in just one dose. The company is expected to release data on its effectiveness later this month. (Berkeley Lovelace Jr., CNBC)
Perspectives
I am angry because, after spending months carefully isolating myself, a single chaotic day probably made me sick. I am angry because several of our nation’s leaders did not want to deal with the small inconvenience of a mask for a few hours. I am angry that the attack on the Capitol and my subsequent illness have the same cause: the failure of my Republican colleagues to accept the facts.
– Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) writes in The Washington Post after positive test for COVID-19 after the Capitol disturbances.
More than numbers
For the more than 93,604,952 people worldwide who have had a positive result, may their path to recovery be smooth.
To the family and friends of the 2,003,885 people who died worldwide – 390,809 of them in the United States – their loved ones will not be forgotten.
Be safe, everyone.