masks Tag

23 May

Posted at 11:47h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57466" align="alignleft" width="149"]Jonathan Baktari, MD CEO of e7health.com  Dr. Baktari[/caption] Jonathan Baktari, MD CEO of e7health.com Dr. Baktari dicusses COVID-19 vaccinations as well as the nine vaccinated New York Yankees have now tested positive for COVID-19.  They all received the J&J vaccine. MedicalResearch.com:  There are nine known COVID positive results among members of the Yankees, previously immunized with the J&J vaccine.  Do you know if the players have become ill or just tested positive on routine testing? Response: Only 1 out of the 9 was mildly symptomatic and were all picked up as part of MLB testing protocol. MedicalResearch.com: Do you know how long after they were vaccinated that they tested positive?  Do you know of other incidences of positive reactions after vaccinations?  Response: According to MLB, all players tested positive after receiving the J&J vaccine.  All were at least 14 days after the vaccine was administered.  The 14 days post vaccination is when J&J is supposed to be effective in preventing serious illness and death.

16 Apr

Posted at 16:13h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57153" align="alignleft" width="163"]Emily Sickbert-Bennett PhD, MS, CIC, FSHEA Director, Infection Prevention, UNC Hospitals Administrative Director, Carolina Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, UNC Hospitals Associate Professor of Medicine-Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine Associate Professor of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Dr. Sickbert-Bennett[/caption] Emily Sickbert-Bennett PhD, MS, CIC, FSHEA Director, Infection Prevention, UNC Hospitals Administrative Director, Carolina Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, UNC Hospitals Associate Professor of Medicine-Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine Associate Professor of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Recently public health officials have recommended doubling masks, although the initial study conducted by CDC investigators  was limited in type and combinations of masks tested, so our study compared fitted filtration efficiency of commonly available masks worn, singly, doubled or in combination. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response:  Doubling of masks can improve the fitted filtration efficiency of masks, that is how well masks protect you from inhalation of aerosols from others. 

13 Mar

Posted at 00:57h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Infections, UCSD
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56929" align="alignleft" width="200"]Abhishek Saha, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University of California San Diego Dr. Saha[/caption] Abhishek Saha, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University of California San Diego MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: At a very early stage of COVID 19 pandemic, the scientific community identified that respiratory droplet is the primary mode of transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus. Naturally, the health agencies have encouraged facemasks to restrict these droplets from spreading during respiratory events, like coughing, sneezing, talking, etc. While WHO recommended using either N95 masks or other types of three-layer masks, due to a sharp increase in demand and scarcity in supplies, a variety of either home-made or locally purchased masks became popular. Naturally, one wonders if these single- and double-layer masks provide enough protection. To provide some insight into this critical question, our team, which also includes Professor Swetaprovo Chaudhuri from the University of Toronto, and Professor Saptarshi Basu of the Indian Institute of Science, experimentally analyzed what happens to the respiratory droplets when they impact single- and multi-layer masks. 

17 Dec

Posted at 02:11h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xiaolei Yang  The State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics School of Engineering Sciences University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China hallway-air-flow.jpegMedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The most important finding of this study is that the transmission of COVID-19 is highly influenced by the airflow and that a slight difference in the airflow can significantly alter the virus spreading pattern in the air. In this study, the change of airflow is caused by a minor difference in the corridor width and the walking speed. However, such a change can also come from other factors, such as the indoor architectural structure, the temperature, the humidity, etc. In many of these cases, the common guideline of 6-feet may not be enough when the influence of airflow is taken into account. Due to this complexity, there is still a gap of knowledge to fill before a safety guideline for different indoor environments can be provided to the public, many research efforts are needed from the fluid mechanics’ aspect.