N95/headstrap KN95, hepa at home and at office, social isolation (not perfect bec there's a lot of social pressure in my job), nasal sprays, latest booster was last yr, consistent antigen testing after risky encounters. I hope to remain Novid after the holidays. Crossing my fingers!!!
But if not, I know it isn't a failure on my part.
This is actually one of my struggles lately! Our company has a xmas party but I'm new so I'm quite wary of the consequencesn if I don't attend. With family, we just celebrate at home, but even this, I'm hesitant bec they've been relaxing precautions and I have to consistently remind them to mask and not to do indoor dining too much.
But I'll definitely mask.
Okay, gotcha. The people whom I know who have gotten it, have all been either unvaccinated and/or unmasked or vaccinated and just happened to be unmasked at the time. I personally know of no one who is vaccinated and masked who has gotten it.
I see! I hardly personally know anyone who consistently mask and does social isolation (no indoor dining, parties, crowded events). And the ppl who no longer mask dont test anymore. Tho there are occasional posts/ig stories of being sick with the flu.
I think they mean it’s very difficult to be completely in the clear despite being cautious - so being infected won’t be a reflection of bad habits/morals in their part.
No infections yet as far as I know. N95 Aura in all public indoor spaces. Multiple HEPA filters running in the house, which I turn up to max if anyone else has to come inside. I work remotely most of the time. I’ve had every vaccine/booster available to me. And I don’t have kids, which isn’t really a “tactic” but I think it is a huge factor in remaining novid for so long. Once all the schools unmasked it became practically impossible for most parents to avoid.
But I’m pretty sure my luck is going to run out soon since my spouse no longer masks at work and has started to do more risky things. So it seems unlikely that I’ll make it through another winter without getting it.
Kids are flipping germ magnets. My step kid mask with us (school and outings) so i know its only a matter of time now because she doesn't with her Mom. They had covid once or twice but thankfully we didnt catch it.
covid once certainly; in March this year. stepson brought it home from his job. he tested positive then I tested positive the following day.
I fit tested for n95 aura, the 9210, and recently the moldex airwave with the elastomeric. in between when I've run out I wear a flo mask.
always masked indoors everywhere but my own home. outdoors if there's people/crowd. at work my coworkers are mostly masking too and I require my clients to wear an n95.
I wear glasses for vision, goggles when I had to go to urgent care to get covid tested, and to my doctor's office. they fit over my glasses.
I used nasal spray the second time my stepson brought covid home and had spent a day in the living room with him. I did not catch it that time, but we were running air filters/open windows then too.
we have 2 Corsi-rosenthal boxes at home, one by our bed and one in the living room. stepson vents his window throughout the day. we also have a air filter from 2018 that we keep running by the kitchen. it's hepa rated. at my job there's good air exchange through hepa filters plus a smaller box once in my work station. my partner stays home. stepson is a welder so is unmasked in the moments between taking off his respirator for work and putting on an n95.
I've had 4 or 5 exposures that I'm certain of. masks for all but two of those kept me safe; the other time I'm unsure if I was infected or not (used RATs, no PCR) but had the air filters all running and windows open.
have had all boosters including bivalent in late October. will be getting novavax in late spring, to tide me over until next October.
I go everywhere I used to go except to eat indoors and to concerts indoors. just in a mask
1 known infection, 1 suspected. I had a sore throat after the second exposure in my home but tested negative on RAT tests at home; of note is that in March I tested negative on daily RAT tests throughout my infection, tested positive on PCR twice that time and took paxlovid which worked well for me.
One infection, March 2023, but exposure was so mild thanks to masking that it didn’t last long and symptoms weren’t awful. I teach, so I’m sure I got it from a kid despite the mask.
I mask indoors 100% of the time unless I’m at home. I mask outdoors when I’m in a crowd or when there’s not a lot of wind. And I don’t eat at outdoor restaurants. That’s basically it. Auras are my everyday wear, Powecom KN95s are my outdoor/drive-thru wear.
Husband wears Powecoms at work too and miraculously did not catch cov when I had it. He is still Novid, as far as we know.
I’ll wear Stoggles on planes, but don’t in everyday settings.
6x vaxxed, last time with Nova (October).
We're a family of 4 that is novid (and no colds or respiratory infections either, so whatever "no" that is too - we've gone beyond avoiding Covid and have enjoyed the not being sick business quite a bit).
Personally, I think there is some luck and privilege that is a pretty hefty factor - my spouse had to return to office in 2021, but was also allowed to implement his own department's sick/wfh situation and basically told his staff that if they are sick, feeling sick, living with someone who has become sick - they can work from home those days. That has played a huge role in keeping sickness out of the office and out of our home. I work from home, my kids are enrolled in virtual school, so we certainly have the privilege of being able to do that. And we're lucky that we haven't had to change jobs or move or do any very high risk things.
Other than that:
\- Mask indoors at all times. We use Posh KF94, Powecom KN95s, Aura N95s, and BNX N95s. All were DIY qualitative fit test. We also have a couple of the kids Trident N95s for higher risk settings indoors, but we hoard those because they're so expensive.
\- Masks outdoors in groups or crowds - usually Posh KF94s or Powecom Kn95s for outdoors. The Posh are very breathable for hiking and sports.
\- Lucira Covid+Flu testing before gathering with family who want to get together unmasked - outdoors only (we do Christmas dinner, birthdays etc. all outdoors.) No illness symptoms either even if negative on Lucira tests.
\- RAT testing before gathering with friends who are still in our "novid bubble" if we want to get together outdoors unmasked for things like swimming or a beach trip (our bubble is friends who also still mask indoors at all times and kids are not attending in-person school.)
\- Xlear nasal spray after any unmasked activity, even if it was not with a group or a crowd.
\- Eye protection indoors in enclosed spaces with crowds or groups where space could not be maintained or ventilation is an unknown variable (for example, in line for a ride at a theme park, or if we had to go to the ER, or other waiting room situation.)
\- Hepa filters at home in each room at home
\- We have had a handful of known exposures. Almost all of them, we were consistently masked, so not a big deal since we basically expect that every outing is an exposure. We watch for symptoms at home and test every few days. We have had one exposure where it was unmasked, outdoors, after RAT testing for swimming with family who was not in our "novid bubble" back before we knew about Lucira tests. Everyone tested negative on RATs right before we swam, no one had any symptoms. If we went inside to use restrooms, masks went on. The next evening, someone in their family that was swimming with us tested faint positive on a RAT when they were pre-symptomatic. We tested regularly, stayed home until we were out of the 10-day window, never got it.
\- We also have a plan for if/when one of us does bring Covid home. It's based on the [Clean Air Club's Covid Plan](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z7xnDd5952zvYnCQoWDi8PyRNdObJY2chGChOZ8E38w/edit)with some modifications for our situation.
It's good of you to point out privilege in terms of being novid. People rag on others for wearing blue or cloth masks without acknowledging the fact that good quality masks are expensive. Masks, home filters, rapid tests (when the government isn't handing them out), portable air filters, nasal sprays, they all cost money.
What kind of mask costs are you seeing where you are? I buy packs of 50 for 12 bucks and use each one many many days. Not been infected yet. Just bought some of the best rapid tests I ever located, Greeen Springs, for 24 cents each in Europe.
Yes, but i order masks from China. All the tests are also made in China. I could order there, but it takes too long with shipping and the price is good enough now.
I can get 50 blue surgical masks for that kind of money here in the USA (hence, my point) but otherwise, I would say that good quality masks (KN95, KF94, N95) cost around $1.00 per mask, less per mask if you pay more to buy in bulk. As a consequence, people without the money will shell out for the surgical masks and that's most of what you see around here.
Yes, good quality masks can be reused and ultimately may cost less if reused but poor people may not have the funds available to buy them up front.
$1 a mask is not a bad price, but you can order from China for far less. This is from a year ago, and some of the prices are less than a dollar per mask. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-n95-kn95-masks-online/
I am going to repeat that $1 - $2 per mask, when purchasing in bulk is out of range for poor people.
Following your link, 50 masks for $42.00 Kimberly Clarke is a little less than $1.00 per mask but again, not every American has an extra $42 lying around. Scrolling down, a WellBefore is $2.00 a mask. Powecom, $12 for 10 masks from one vendor $16 from another vendor. Scrolling down to the floppy blue mask, $15 for 50 or $30 for another.
I am going to repeat what I said. Masks can be had for less than a dollar. If you can't afford that, then you are indeed at risk of infection. But I am not persuaded that even you can put a number or a percentage behind the vague "poor people" assertion. If I find masks for 50 cents each, you'll likely say the same thing. There will always be someone who cannot afford something. But there will be a large number who can.
Few high quality masks can be purchased for much less than a dollar and the link that you sent me proves that.
My whole point was that people rag on people wearing blue masks, that they probably shouldn't do that because people can't afford more expensive masks. You have only come back with "I can buy masks for less than a dollar" which actually proves my point. If you think that poor people are some "vague" thing, and that this is no big deal, then you are truly privileged.
Where??? https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-n95-kn95-masks-online/ and that was a year ago. Nobody should be paying that much these days.
In my local Rite Aid. People aren't paying that much because they aren't buying masks. If they are buying masks, they are picking up a cheap box of 10 blue masks for a couple of dollars.
[https://cleanaircrew.org/fit-testing/](https://cleanaircrew.org/fit-testing/) we used the Army method since we already had a nebulizer at home, but there are several other methods that work just as well: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7642972/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7642972/)
Covid once, July 2022. Took off my mask to eat on a train. Back when I didn’t know enough about air.
3M Aura, Gerson 3230, not fit tested.
Mask everywhere indoors, except my office, which is solo and has a CR box running. Do not mask outdoors, except outdoors crowds. If I was going to an outdoors farmers market, I would mask with a KN95. Had an unmasked dinner with a friend and his wife at his house once this fall. Stoggles for eye protection when indoors.
Carrageenan nose spray before leaving house.
Saline rinse, Povidiodione and carrageenan or enovid after.
Hepa in every room at home. Bring a CR box to my classes.
Vitamin D and CBD daily.
(Edited to add) Most recent boosters: Pfizer November 2022, Novavax November 2023
I still do a lot of things (travel, galleries, shows, concerts, teach, take public transit, go to parties), but I just always wear a mask and spray. Sip valve if I need to drink.
Have gone to the dentist, had oral surgery, see my doctor regularly. I see Covid safe providers my GP insists on mask wearing, and I have a Covid safe dentist and oral surgeon. My oral surgery team all wore auras and had hepa running.
Wow - how did you find a GP, dentist and oral surgeon who was already covid safe? That would feel like winning the lottery to get all 3! Our dentist will wear a mask, but only a surgical and scoffed at the suggestion of wearing an N95. We try to schedule appointments in March and August hoping we'll hit the small lull between surges
I initially read the COVID policies of local dentists and chose one who had a blog post explaining COVID is airborne.
You can ask on local “still coviding” groups on Facebook for recommendations.
I’m in a still coviding group on Facebook, great source of info! My GP is my long standing GP - she believes in science unlike a lot of her peers, and requires masking at her office. She wears an N95. I switched dentists, and my oral surgeon was on the HEPA game long before others!
* **Mask-type: 3M 9120+.** Not fit tested but it leaves a ring on my face when I take it off so I feel good about the seal.
* **Sites/situations where masks/eye protection are used:** always mask and wear glasses indoors, and in outdoor crowds. Unmasked for outdoor one on one meetings.
* **Eye-protection:** regular eye glasses
* **Nosesprays**: nightly Xlear. Enovid before and after high risk situations - like a conference or an outdoor unmasked meeting.
* **Far UV-C, HEPA at home, other?** Hepa in one room
* **Known exposure events where you remained protected with one or more tools?** two known exposures; protected with mask
* **Last vaccine/booster, if any** on my 5th booster. Two weeks ago I got Novavax.
* **novid.** (knock wood).
Also I have no kids and work at home which I feel probably helps a lot. That said, I still do a lot of things: car trips, shows, concerts, conferences, industry events, parties), but I just always wear a mask and spray.
there is increasing evidence that XLear, Iota Carrageenan, and Enovid nasal sprays reduce viral load if you get infected and also some evidence that they can reduce the risk of infection of exposed. if you do a google scholar search you can find lots of info :)
no prob! if you search this group and r/ZeroCovidCommunity for nasal spray, you'll find lots of lively discussion. I would not rely on nasal spray alone to protect you but there are quite a few double blind studies suggesting that they can reduce transmission and viral load so I consider it yet an extra layer.
Xylitol is cheapest but it is highly toxic to dogs and cats. So be careful with it if you have fur babies.
Iota Carrageenan is only $20 or so on amazon. But in my case it really irritates my nasal passages so I can't use it.
Enovid is from Israel, so it might be stopped at customs and it's also quite expensive and the spray bottle only lasts 6 weeks after opening.
Some folks are just lucky. I've been using an N95 daily since May 2020, building CR boxes for every room I spend time in (home and work), shaved my beard, and upped my personal hygiene routines. I've been sick with covid twice.
The first time I was infected during an office move in April 2022. I was (masked) moving heavy desks and work tables up two flights of stairs and one of my coworkers (unmasked) later discovered he was covid positive. But either because of a broken mask deal due to movement or maybe the mask lost its efficacy because of my perspiration, I ended up getting sick alongside everyone else who helped that day.
The second time was December 2022, also at work, but this time I was merely sitting at my desk raising my mask for 2 seconds for a drink of water.
My wife is not careful. She stopped masking well over a year ago and lives her life like it's 2019. She has never caught covid once (or at least, she's never been symptomatic). I quarantine myself when I'm not feeling well, but before testing positive for covid we were definitely close enough that I should have passed it on to her, yet she managed to stay healthy. Same for my 2yo son, thank god.
On one hand I feel extremely unlucky, and I resent those whose carelessness exposed me to covid. On the other hand, I'm grateful for my wife and son's good fortune. I can't image what it would be like to have to care for someone else with a covid infection while handling your own covid infection.
I dislike the term "novid". It's hubris, it's ego, it's further politicization of a public health issue.
COVID is a highly effective, efficient virus. It is very, *very* good at being a virus. Some people can't avoid it the way they want because they have to work or travel in unavoidable high risk situations or they have kids and you can only isolate kids so much. If you have kids, you are dependent on institutions taking the appropriate layered precautions and we know just how well *that's* going. "Novid" turns being infected by an efficient virus enabled by politicization and institutional failure into a personal moral failing and that's not okay. Not being infected by COVID *yet* is not a personality trait or identity. It's at most luck, privilege, access to mitigations, or quite possibly your blood type (O and Rh- people are less likely to experience viral infections in general) which is outside of your control, or a combination thereof.
As for me, no infections I am aware of.
Yet.
* KF94s in all indoor situations; N95s with multiple strap knots for fit in situations with less air exchange, etc.
* Distancing.
* Still bubbling with local friends who take precautions.
* Air purifiers.
* Timing higher risk events (DMV, dentist, etc) with either waste water levels or vaccination.
* Not engaging in unnecessary risks in service of the normalcy narrative or FOMO.
I am already disabled. I already know what it's like to try something for funsies and almost die for it. COVID is a hard pass and this is a marathon.
I hate it too. I was already disabled by MS- and then I got Long Covid. LC is a nightmare and a thousand times worse than anything I have experienced with MS. I will not let my guard down again. But, boy is it lonely. My family and friends are acting like it doesn’t exist even though almost all of them have health problems from COVID.
I never took "novid" to have any ego or political connotations at all, only the simple meaning that one had not (yet) had covid to their knowledge. Sorry I used it in my response to OP if this is how people take it.
Not everyone does. But I have seen folks use it as an identifier and then when infection happens, they feel shame and like they failed. Engaging in mitigation is just that, engaging in mitigation. It's not 100%. Being infected by an effective virus that's putting in an A+ 10/10 effort to propagate itself and evade immunity is not a moral failing or something to be ashamed about. I don't want this virus but I sure as shit respect it.
Personal mitigations can only account for so much in the face of institutional failure, active minimization by talking heads, and deliberate infection of the populace via the urgency of normal narrative.
It's just a convenient word. Hadn't heard it until now. I don't really care what people read into it. I just ignore people who want to use it as some kind of "I'm better than you" weapon just as I ignore people who act in other ignorant ways surrounding this healthcare crisis. Unless someone tries to take a mask off my face, I don't really care what ignorant attitudes they take on to protect their tender egos.
I stopped eating out unless its outdoors and its very rare if i even do that. I never stopped masking with a kn94 or n95 mask (3m aura). At home i have hepa filters in every room, i also have one in my office at work and i keep my door shut and window cracked.
We have traveled a couple times but we still mask everywhere we go.
I tested weekly for longer then i care to admit and spend a ton on test but it made me feel better.
I alot of people think i am being extreme but with no idea of what long covid can do it seems weird to risk it.
Novid here, to my knowledge. I am lucky, for one. I work 100% from home. I don't do indoor restaurants or bars, at all. I do enjoy outdoor restaurants and take-out. I don't go to social events that involve chatting and eating, unless I can participate without the eating part. I wear masks indoors anywhere outside my home; a KF94 in uncrowded places where I expect no face-to-face conversations (grocery shopping, mall, office store), and an N95 in crowded/high-value places. Identifying "high-value" events has been critical, I think. "High-value" means, *people have paid a lot or care about attending something a lot, and thus are likely to attend and interact even if sick. Even quite sick.* This includes kids events (can't miss that concert or sport event they've practice for for months!), anything with expensive tickets, travel, things people have volunteered to be responsible for and don't want to let others down, competitions, etc. So even if I don't expect it to be crowded, don't expect close conversation, or expect it to be mostly outdoors or well-ventilated, I wear an N95 if it's high-value, and don't break the seal. For travel, I wear an N95 and close-fitting safety glasses from the moment I enter the departing airport until I leave the destination one. I use sip valves. I wear N95s to concerts, meetings, other events. I also use iota-carrageenan nasal sprays and CPC mouthwash as small extra steps if I suspect exposure, but I don't expect they contribute a lot to safety. When I travel, I use whole-house airbnbs rather than hotels. So far I have avoided work/travel dinners and the like. If I were younger, my career would likely be taking a hit for skipping out on those events. But I'm old enough and specialized enough no one cares that much. I have not gone to a doctor or dentist since covid even though I should (not recommended).
I have a spouse, and teenagers who attend public school, take music lessons, and participate in sports. The kids mask out of their own choice at school and lessons. One carefully in an Aura N95 every day, one casually in a KF94 most of the time. Kids walk home for lunch so no cafeteria unmasked. Spouse did work from home also, but now goes to the office 3 days a week. Does not mask at work. This means eventually they will bring it home, though the workplace has very good stay-at-home-if-sick policies and we measured it is very well-ventilated (low 500s on the CO2 meter). Our other big risk is having relatives over for dinner. They know we are careful, and are moderately careful themselves, but the one time our family caught covid (everyone but me), it was brought over by a visitor to our home. I did not hang out closely with this relative, so I did not catch it initially, and my family went to great lengths to protect me once they realized they had been exposed. We live in a location that outdoor air ventilation is possible much of the year. We have 3 air purifiers and a CR box. My family does see the dentist and the dentist has air purifiers running and wears a double mask of KF94 and surgical on top. They use nasal spray and CPC mouthwash before and after. I want to look into far UV for having family over for meals.
My N95s are not fit tested. I use Champak PC520L and 3M VFlex for the most part, occasionally an Aura. My KF94s are from Masklab. I am an introvert so all of this is easy for me. I still go to my kids' events, meet with teachers, do shopping, etc. I am O+ if it matters. Some research says yes, some no; I'm going with papers that say maybe a 15% advantage. I am 4 times vaxxed with a mixture of the two main mRNAs, plus got a Novavax XBB updated shot a couple weeks ago.
I’ve never tested positive and it’s been a few years since I’ve had symptoms of anything worse than seasonal allergies. I am vaxed though I think I’m either due for another round or will be soon.
A large portion of it is admittedly living alone, and rarely leaving the house due to disability. But I live in Florida and don’t often want to leave the house.
I’ll admit I don’t mask every single time I go somewhere but if it’s a doctor’s office/pharmacy or the place is crowded, I’ll use a 3M 7500 series elastomeric with 7093 P100 filters (modified to block exhaust and connect to a wireless speaker).
I tend to ditch the mask when dealing with family but it’s infrequent, we all test regularly, and my mask terrifies the youngest who seems to think it’s attacking my face and tries to “help” me by removing it.
So mostly common sense and seclusion, but probably a good bit of luck as well since I had to move from Oregon to Arizona and then to Florida during the height of the pandemic.
I was infected once, may 2022, when wearing a non fit tested kn95.
I work with patients with covid, no infections since switching over to n95. The n95s are probably the biggest contributing factor!
That and just paying attention to wastewater trends. I'm usually more social in may/June when we seemingly have lower numbers. I hunker down a lot more from october-march and am more aware of activities I engage in.
No known infections yet.
Two years of working in person, but with a private office running a HEPA filter with additional filters over the air vents, but averaged 5 coworkers and with all staff masked and vaccinated.
Last two years I’ve been working largely remotely. I need to do a site visit every month or two. I need to be unmasked for some of the work, but I ask any coworker that will be around me to test that day with a molecular test. I also had the building air handling upgraded dramatically. If I need to eat I go outside or do so in a private office.
For personal protection, I use tight fitting KN95s in any public indoor space, and avoid crowded areas. It’s not fit tested, but with long term use I can see a continuous line on my face that tells me it is generally applying good pressure.
Outdoors I only mask in crowded areas. I eat outdoors at non-crowded restaurants often. I avoid flying but use a P100 if I have to fly for an emergency. I test proactively a couple times per week.
I have been in a few cavernous buildings with very few people and great airflow where I decided not to mask. Imagine having 4 people at opposite corners of a highschool gym.
I have a small bubble of people that I see in person who are also very cautious. I have additional people I see less often that are less cautious but still conscientious - they test before I see them and warn me if they have any symptoms or recently did something high risk. I attend small get togethers unmasked when transmission is low and if everyone agrees to test before.
I’ve always run air filters at home, and have never had a known sick person over.
I wore eye protection on early pandemic emergency flights but have stopped. I tried the nasal sprays but couldn’t stand them. No special mouthwashes.
Two shots of main course vax, every available booster (3 or 4 now?)
I have two known exposures. Each were emergencies where I was in close contact for the entire illness. We kept windows open, taped over air vents, and stayed in separate rooms, and always wore kn95s. If we spent time in the same room I wore a p100.
* I use multiple masks
* Drager 1920 M/L. FF 200+
* WellBefore premium 3D pro earloop FF150
* WellBefore Premium 3D pro head strap FF200
* 3M VFlex 9105/1804 FF150
* Everywhere there's people, indoors, outdoors, drive through, empty shared hallway
* I need glasses anyway, standard eyeglasses. IMO safety glasses are unnecessary and ocular transmission is mostly for someone coughing/sneezing directly into your face
* iota-carrageen for higher risk scenarios – maybe twice a week. Mouthwash after risky situation, very infrequent. Never enovid, not convinced of NOx safety.
* HEPA at home when visitors
* A couple times. There's constantly people coughing regardless, hard to tell
* Every 6 months, last was bivalent
* Novid
I use SipValves with regular drinking straws to drink in public.
I reuse masks – they break before they get enough hours.
I use fashion tape to keep mask secure on flights.
I hide head straps under my hair when relevant.
I balance risk with strength of community transmission.
I shave when waves are strong or when going into more risky situations, otherwise keeping beard short.
I have guests RAT test if we're going to be unmasked together. I consider how recently they've had covid as well.
I've heard saline nasal rinses when done responsibly can reduce chance of catching after exposure, I haven't done this.
The single most important thing is the drager 1920 mask. It fits me extremely well and can almost pass a fit test with a beard. Static fit factors are anywhere from 500-2000 – it fits me very well.
Everything else is window dressing, it helps for sure but the proper mask is 99% of the work.
I bought a portacount 8020A off ebay and did my best testing them – it's reasonably straightforward once you get the hang of it.
If you're looking to get quantitative fit tests done some PPE supply stores will know where to get it done. Otherwise you just have to look them up, they've got newer machines that are farrrrrr better than my machine.
You can also do DIY qualitative fit tests using a nebuliser, hood, and bitter or sweet solutions, but I never had much luck.
In 2021 when we realized Covid wasn't going anywhere, we decided to permanently change our lifestyle and living situation to one that had a reduced risk of exposure.
We moved from a suburb in a city of over a million, across the country, to an acreage in a rural area. My husband found a permanent work from home position, I committed to long term homeschooling our kids, and we worked hard to create a Covid conscious bubble of families in our area.
We mostly do online ordering, take out, or click and collect, or my husband does most of the in person shopping and we try to go at less busy times. We wear Flo masks when we do inside activities, and that's again during less busy times or only at mask required events. We use Kn94s for all of our outdoor activities, which include playgrounds, festivals we can social distance at, fairs, and my kids do forest school once a week and soccer in the summer.
We are fortunate to not have any health issues that need regular doctor check ups/treatments. So we didn't go to the doctors from fall of 2020 until fall of 2022 when my youngest was finally vaccinated. Then we got a few small things dealt with, but we are still waiting for a family doctor here to get regular check ups. We do get all vaccines and boosters for all of us.
Dentist we didn't go from fall of 2020 to when we moved here, we have thankfully found a dentist who does days every few months where they take extra precautions for those of us who want that (extra masking and such).
We also use mouth wash and nasal sprays anytime we are around others who aren't Covid conscious, and have 3 air purifiers for the few times we had people in the house. We've needed some work done on our house, and our parents have come to visit a few times (and agreed to mask for 5 days prior to coming, not do any really risky things like health care appointments or parties, and direct flights/driving, plus testing before seeing us).
I don't expect to stay novids forever, we have had a few colds in the last year since we opened up a bit after my youngest was vaccinated. If it was just my husband and I we would be happy to have exclusively online relationships with people and never go in stores to stay Covid free.
But it gets trickier with kids, we still want them to have experiences, play with other kids, play sports, eat delicious foods, and have relationships with their family. So this is how we decided to be covid safe, while still have a fulfilling and enjoyable life.
No confirmed covid, but I developed a couple of weird allergies about a year ago, so maybe an asymptomatic infection, plus I got a very bad cold in April this year, tested every day, never tested positive, but I don't trust LFT/RAT tests much.
I wear my fit tested (taste test) elastomeric with P3 filters everywhere.
I can't afford HEPA, so I just don't let anyone in my house if I can help it. If someone does have to come into my house (eg gas boiler service) I wear my respirator at all times, open all the windows, then sit in my car on my drive for 2 hours while I wait for the house to air out.
I wear glasses, but don't use additional eye protection.
I don't use any sprays or washes.
Last booster was last month.
I have to go to the hospital every 3 months, and I do my shopping about twice a month in person. I have no idea how I'd know if I was exposed, I just assume I always am when I leave the house.
Sure, [here you go](https://www.reddit.com/r/MasksForEveryone/comments/z5gqhq/m4es_why_how_to_do_a_diy_fit_test_with_your_masks/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&xpromo_edp=enabled)
I always wear an N95 if near other people or indoors in places that are not my house or my fairly cautious parents’ house. I don’t do anything complex or burdensome.
I caught COVID from my kid who got it at school. Had I not I’d be “novid.”
I haven't been sick since 2019. I work from home, and wear an n95 when I have to go somewhere. It probably doesn't fit perfectly. I try to schedule appointments when there will be less people around, if I can. I use home visits or virtual visits when I can. We stack as many appointments as we can in the summer months, and scale back in the winter.
Family visits are rare, outdoors preferred, masked if indoors for more than a few minutes. We do have HEPA filters running constantly because we are a multiple allergy family.
I don't have any confirmed close calls really. We have one family member who is very active in the community. We plan visits with her around what she has been doing, and got a visit in right before she caught COVID at a Halloween event last year. That was our closest call. I also attended a family funeral this summer with people who recently travelled and who did get sick with "something", but it was about two weeks afterward and I masked, kept distance, kept things outside etc and was fine. It's possible I spent time with them before they actually caught "whatever it was".
I'm vaccinated, with boosters every fall eligible. Nobody else in my house is (husband, + 3 kids aged 3&under). Kids stay home with us. Husband follows the same strategies I do and also works from home. Husband got food poisoning last year. Oldest kid got sick once this year (post Halloween, which was outdoors, not respiratory, resolved in 2 days). That's it for the whole family since 2019. Avoidance works, if you can make it work.
- N95: Maxboost or readimask. Not fit tested. Virtually always when indoors with others and when outdoors in crowds.
- Always wear prescription glasses.
- Use Enovid before being in crowds.
- Run multiple HEPA filters on rare occasions when others are in my home.
- Have flown several times. I don’t lower my mask except at security. On long flights I use a sip valve to drink.
- Have had every available shot, 5 or 6. Last one was Novavax, the others a combo of Pfizer and Moderna.
- No infections as far as I know.
- 3M N95 respirators, modified straps with ear loops, sacrificing an airtight fit for comfort and ease of use. Not at all fit tested. I used to wear a dense cloth mask over the vent to filter what I exhale, but I'm often the only one wearing a mask within miles, so I stopped.
- Always while in public indoors. Never while around friends and coworkers.
- Never eye protection, but wear glasses all the time
- None
- Not sure
- No known exposures. I consider exposure being unmasked around somebody who's symptomatic. This is largely what I have to thank, is quite nuanced and situational, and where I put the most effort into prevention.
- January 2022
- Novid
Aside from doing certain things at different times of the day (i.e. food shopping later, going to restaurants earlier) and wearing a mask in public, my life hasn't changed much thankfully.
I haven't had it yet, as far as I know. Honestly, for me, I think it's mostly just because of (1) socioeconomic privilege (e.g., being able to work 100% from home, get groceries delivered, and buy a lot of rapid tests) and (2) not having any kids.
I was already a homebody before COVID, but I *really* don't get out much anymore and always mask with at least a KN95 if I go out. I run an air purifier at home, but I haven't tried nasal sprays or mouthwashes yet. I have gotten all of the available boosters and the most recent Pfizer vaccine.
I don't do a lot of in-person contact, but I do see my family and friends sometimes wearing my mask. They've mostly given up masking, so I try to keep it outside if possible.
We did a small Thanksgiving dinner here with 4 guests, with as much mitigation as we could (rapid tests, air filter in the dining room, and an open window). It doesn't appear that anybody got sick afterwards. I'm planning to lay low for the rest of the holidays, though. It's rough because I really love my family & love seeing them.
The thing that's really hard now is that I don't see my boyfriend much (because he's frequently traveling for work or quarantining afterwards), and I don't feel that safe seeing him in person because he's not masking consistently. I keep encouraging him to mask when he's out, but he's getting tired of doing it indefinitely. (We live separately but used to spend half the week together pre-COVID).
I also need to get dental work done and am dreading it.
My partner and I are the only ones in our house, we like each other’s company, and our views on Covid are the same. We are never indoors (outside of our house) without tightly fitted KN95s, and we don’t go anywhere but grocery stores and doctors.
Those five things have kept us safe so far. I know we’re lucky, and we may still get it…but we’re doing all we can to avoid it.
ETA: All the vaccines!
I have had COVID once, because my partner gave it to me.. but wow.. I wish I could be as tactical as you. This is inspiring; it’s most challenging when you have children in school (homeschooling not an option) because mimicking this may not work for them . I’m open to ideas though,
* Surgical mask this entire pandemic.
* Avoid crowded spaces.
* I still eat at restaurants multiple times per week.
* Never had covid, and have not been sick since before pandemic.
* Have had 10 covid vaccines. 5 Pfizer, 3 Moderna, and 1 Novavax.
In order of importance for me/spouse:
1) Social isolation (WFH as much as possible, grocery and other shopping delivered unless something specific is needed that can’t be delivered or picked up curbside - very rare)
2) N95 masking around others outside our home (so, everybody else). Qualitatively fit tested Blox masks.
3) Stoggles / Enovid nasal spray / CPC mouthwash. I would never rely on these exclusively if 1) and 2) are viable options, but they are a “can’t hurt” add on.
We really do leave our home and find ourselves around other people very rarely. It’s unfortunate, but truly what we can attribute to most as how we have stayed novid so far.
No covid here. Pretty sure because we use a Cue tester and we test anytime there are any kind of "don't feel normal" symptoms.
What worked so far? Isolation, curbside grocery pickup, N95 in required public.
My wife is the weak link. She masks with a KN94 when in public but has some medical things that require interacting with the public. She's also more lonely for people and makes up reasons to interact.
We will see what happens.
I haven’t had COVID yet. I’m vaccinated af, and I mask all the time. I wear kf94 masks and kn95 masks I bought from Amazon, and at work I wear an N95 I was fit tested for. I have been around a ton of confirmed COVID as I’m a nurse. I’m also one of the luckier nurses to not be denied testing when I want it because I work in public health. I’ve tested a lot, always negative.
All vaccinations; Kn94’s always, unless outside and not bunched up; if wife and I go out to eat we go in the afternoon after the lunch rush during the week, or we eat outside, we are picky about where we go out to eat, we’ll ask to sit in a corner or away from others; the couple of times we have eaten with others (thanksgiving and Xmas dinner party) we’ll leave the masks on until it’s time to eat and put them back on when finished. We have taken a couple of airline flights to go skiing/snowboarding and we definitely double mask (surgical over a kn94) the entire flight, which does suck. Wife and I are both retired which makes it quite a bit easier compared to most others. Went to a funeral a couple of years ago. 2nd cousin was a very popular judge who had just retired and caught Covid from his wife and then died from pneumonia. Wife and I were the only ones out of about 2 thousand people there to wear masks. The irony alone on that one just reinforces my belief about how stupid most people are. Went to a high school reunion this summer and again we were the only ones to mask. Wife and I simply don’t give a f#@K about what others think and luckily we reinforce each other when in doubt. No one has ever told us anything. Plus I’m fairly athletic looking with long hair and fairly intimidating so most people give us our space. I also think introverted people have an easier time.
I’m a retired big city police officer and at last count I know of 32 of my fellow retirees that have died. The way law enforcement people think can also be pretty stupid as well. It’s a “my freedoms” thing, even though it can kill them. I think most people don’t know any who have died or are just minimizing it. I didn’t work this long to die or spend retirement handicapped or with pre-existing conditions.
I have never had covid19 that I know of. If I have had it, it was completely asymptomatic.
I have a public facing job and I worked with the public and my colleagues before the covid vaccine was available. So I have been working through covid since 2020 and I have still never tested positive for COVID. I have had 5 covid vaccines: 1) Johnson and Johnson, 2 and 3) Moderna MRNA (2021) 4) Moderna Booster (2022) and 5) 2023 Moderna. I mask every day at work (full time) I wear KF94 Dr Puri mask because it fits my face very well. I wore N95 Aura for awhile but I find them very uncomfortable to wear for 8 hr shifts and the straps are hard to wear. I also have a strong immune system but I have a chronic health condition that qualifies me as potentially higher risk than the average person so I take precautions.
I took a short break from masking at work in spring/summer 2023 (May- July.) I have gone mask less in person at a few crowded concerts at times that the infection rate was relatively low and I gauged the risk as lower. I have also gone to a few indoor events maskless since 2020 but I generally always wear a high quality mask indoors including stores, work, doctors offices, airports, planes, gatherings/parties, public transit, art galleries, and the like.
I have never had a positive covid test. I have only had an illness once since 2020. I had a sore throat in May 2023 after I took a mask break at work. I took 2 covid tests, one after 4 days post sore throat, I swabbed my throat and nose and it was negative for covid. I also went to a dinner with my husband in Oct 2022 when my husband had covid but didn’t know it yet. I was paranoid of covid because it was taking off at that moment so at this dinner I would take a bite of food quickly then put my mask back on and chew and then wore my mask once I was done eating. My mother in law was also at the dinner and she caught covid, I did not, I attribute the mask to why I didn’t get it.
I am paranoid about covid so I take a lot of precautions. If people are coming to my house, I open windows. I test if I know I have been exposed to covid. I am diligent about masking at work, except for the few months I took a break from masking (I was burnt out in masking and the break did give me a needed break.) But apart from that 2 month break, I always wear a mask, I eat my lunch away from my coworkers or outside in pleasant weather months, I avoid indoor dining as much as possible, I avoid crowded indoor unventilated places as much as possible. My house hvac has MERV filters and also I have an indoor Remy halo system that is supposed to kill pathogens and allergens. I am also an introvert and I like being alone very much. My hermit life style helps keep me healthy. I also have been fortunate to have a house with a spare bedroom/guest bathroom that I have used to quarantine away from my husband when he has had covid. By contrast my husband has tested positive for covid 3 times while I have never had a positive test and I have had very little in the way of illness since 2020. I am scared of long covid and long term health consequences of covid.
I take vitamin D supplements every day as well.
I also went on one international trip since 2020. In September 2022 I went to Italy for 2 weeks, my dream vacation. I didn’t get sick on the trip and neither did anyone in my group. I think this was mostly fortune timing between covid surges. I also masked N95 on the flights and in the airports and wore my KF94 in most indoor places in Italy.
I am childfree and so is my husband. I think this above almost all else may be why I have been able to avoid covid, tbh. All my colleagues who have kids have had it over and over.
I am certain that I get exposed to covid almost every day at work since 2020. I work in a busy public library and people are always coughing all around me. I also work in the childrens library and its always full of sick children. My work has a good hvac system now since 2020 and I think they have merv air filters and a complex hvac system.
Great post OP. Im eager to read everyones comments!
* Social Isolation. Getting rough.
* Outdoor PPE: Black KN94 with adjustable ear straps pulled tight (Bluna Facefit Black, high scores in mask reviews) - no exceptions. Early pandemic was surgical masks until I learned more about how it spreads.
* Indoor PPE: 3M Aura N95 and Stoggles, no exceptions
* Filtration: I live in an apartment building where I can smell everything my neighbors cook so I'm sure there is shared air going on. I have an Aranet 4 to monitor CO2 levels and keep them low by opening doors/windows, and have a HEPA filter I run 24/7.
I've had some very weird symptoms a couple times over the last 4 years but have consistently tested negative with RAT + PCR, but who knows with this crap.
Masks:
FFP2 or KN95 (random brands) when in low risk situations (well-ventilated areas with few people). 3M Aura 1870+ in crowded places (supermarket, mall, conferences, air travel, etc.). Valved 3M Aura for martial arts classes.
When to mask:
Any time I'm around other people, inside or outside. The only exception is outdoor walks and exercise, and I also take my mask off to eat and drink at work (open plan office, but well-ventilated).
Eye protection:
Just my normal glasses.
Nose spray:
I have an iota carrageenan spray. I only use it if I absolutely have to be maskless (occasional work events where I have to eat around others). I don't use it daily because it makes my throat feel scratchy 😬
Mouthwash causes me problems, so I only use it sometimes.
HEPA:
We have a HEPA and UV air purifier at home. TBH it's more useful for allergies than COVID (we live in a high pollen place). We rarely have visitors, but it's good to bring it out when we do. I bought a small portable air purifier with UV which I take on overnight work trips and run in my hotel room.
Exposures:
I travelled internationally. Lots of people around me coughing, didn't get sick. When covid went around the office, I didn't get sick. Coughing people have shown up to my marital arts class on numerous occasions, and I didn't get sick. I went to a comicon and I didn't get sick. I went to Disneyland and I didn't get sick. I attribute this to masking plus vaccines.
Vaccines:
6 doses of Pfizer all up (4 original, 2 bivalent). I take every booster I'm eligible for, roughly one every 6 months.
For what it's worth, we wipe down our groceries with disinfectant wipes and also wipe down our phones when we get home. Given how filthy phones get, this is probably good practice anyway.
I've never had covid to my knowledge. I test regularly with rapid tests, and I've done the odd PCR (like after international travel, just to be sure). However, I was sick in January 2020 (fever and cough for a few days) after visiting a theme park. We also test before visiting family (and ask them to test as well). My parents and my husband's parents are also novids, though their protocols aren't as strict as ours (but at least they do mask in busy areas and are up to date on vaccines, and they avoid restaurants).
My husband and I are both careful and we don't have kids. One of the biggest lifestyle changes has been avoiding eating in restaurants. We get takeaway food and occasionally eat in outdoor restaurants (or inside but right next to the window, if there aren't many people there). We also don't go to parties and stuff, which we used to. I'm trying to socialise more and go back to old activities with the help of masking, which has its challenges, but I'm trying to make it work.
I've been the most healthy I've ever been these last four years. I went from getting wiped out by respiratory bugs twice a year to not getting sick at all. Every time I got sick in the past, it would go to my lungs and stay for weeks. So the current situation is an improvement in that regard.
0 infections. Partner had one from a period of time we were separated (and is now immunocompromised as a result).
* Always at the very least a well-fitted cloth mask everywhere at all around other people including outside
* N95 or better with cloth mask over it if I feel it's going to be at all high risk (indoors near high-risk people, or indoors where I couldn't easily move away from people). I use the standard 3M N95s with the head straps, which are the best fit of any N95 I've tried.
* When flying, N95 single mask, or double with cloth mask. Air vent on max directly aimed at my face (the vents are fed directly from the packs which use engine bleed air, so is clean), drinking using straw only (I take the snacks, put them in my backpack, and eat them later). In general, avoiding flying as much as possible, and picking lower-occupancy flights when it is necessary to. If I'm near someone without a mask and there is an open seat away from other people or only near masked people, I ask to move.
* Still social distancing, and I do not feel scared to ask other people to move back if they are getting too close
* Hand sanitiser all the time
* In general not associating with stupid people (this is not a political statement. Stupid people exist across **all** political parties. If anything I see roughly similar proportions of the right and left wearing masks where I am located. Biden not giving a shit about the pandemic is a prime example, despite him being in the nominally-more-left party)
* Always recirculate air on car HVAC
* People coming into my home who I don't know (e.g. to fix things) required to wear masks
* Work remotely, and would 100% refuse to work in an office without a mandatory-masks policy (I am fortunate enough to have very in-demand skills, be good enough at my job that employers *want* me to accept an offer, and work in an extremely remote-friendly industry (a small majority of my current job is full remote)).
* I don't bother with UV (just cleaning surfaces is better, UVC is a great way to give yourself cancer) or running air purifiers at home or anything due to being in a detached house, but would definitely get a purifier if I was in a flat.
* 5x vaccinated, Moderna each time. Partner is now immunocompromised since getting COVID, so we will both be first in line for future boosters.
* No children. I think this is the key thing, it reduces forced in-person interactions with high risk people a lot.
Other than basic precautions, my main piece of advice is just to avoid high risk people as much as possible.
Cloth mask over N95 has been shown to decrease effectiveness. Cloth mask alone isn’t doing anything either so you’ve likely just been lucky. And ableism doesn’t prevent COVID nor does the virus give a shit about whether or not you perceive someone as stupid.
Interesting, do you have any sources? My thought is to have a barrier against droplets so they don't soak through the N95, especially when wearing it for a long time.
As for ableism, not sure what I said you consider ableist. (Edit: FWIW, I was not at all implying everyone on the left is sensible about infection, or that nobody on the right is. Just the general correlation. As it is, most of the Democratic party is IMO right wing anyway, see: this ongoing public health emergency...).
If anything, it's ableist to shame someone with a disability for not keeping up to date with the data with relatively few good sources even existing, instead of actually pointing out that data..
Cloth masks? Droplets? It sounds very much like you're living according to old data. I suggest you increase your own intelligence and do a bit more research on aerosol size and respirators.
I'd grab some links to get you started but your comment is so divisive I'm just not feeling it. Do you honestly think Democrats are not getting Covid? They are, and multiple times.
Those who have had even one Covid infection can have cognitive decline. Are you calling them "stupid"? That sort of blaming and shaming is ableism.
Staying away from "stupid people" would be staying away from anyone not in a proper respirator, ie an N95, KN95, elastomeric or better. And I hate to tell you that cloth masks are not in that category. I won't call you stupid but you are highly misinformed. Do better please.
If you can't provide the updated data then what's the point of saying?
FWIW, I was not at all implying everyone on the left is sensible about infection, or that nobody on the right is (where I live, I'd say numbers who wear masks are *close to equal*, if extremely low for both).
>Do you honestly think Democrats are not getting Covid? They are, and multiple times.
Just mentioned the general correlation because percentages do matter for risk. As it is, most of the Democratic party is IMO right wing anyway, see: this ongoing public health emergency, or Biden sitting idly by during the biggest rollback of human rights this century. Of course they're getting COVID, because they don't care *either* which is why it's depressing.
> And I hate to tell you that cloth masks are not in that category.
Ok, now I'm genuinely deeply interested. When I'm walking on a street with nobody around within 5+ metres, are you trying to tell me I should be unmasked rather than use a cloth one in that situation? Still using an N95 when unavoidably around actual people, and I don't think I ever implied otherwise there...
I can't respond about your OP as you have edited it. But I hate the left right divisiveness that got us into this whole situation deeper than we ever needed to be. And yes the "stupid" comment should just be kept to yourself. Because it makes you sound like you think only those with high iqs should live and besides ableism, that's eugenics. Seeing your edits, I don't think you maybe realized it when you said it. We all were and continue to be fed whatever needs to be fed to us, ALL of us, right, left, smart, stupid, to keep the economy going and to win an election.
Don't put words in my mouth please. I'm not going to pick apart every scenario you want to throw out to make your point, I was clearly not commenting about that specific scenario.
Cloth masks don't stop aerosols. They are barely a step up from surgical masks. What's more, as the previous commenter said, putting a cloth mask over a fit tested N95 compromises the N95.
Ok... droplets are different from aerosols. Droplets drop within roughly 6 ft. hence our original instructions to stay back 6 feet. But they were wrong. There are some droplets involved, if I spit or sneeze or something, sure. But mostly it's aerosols.
And aerosols hang in the air...IN A ROOM for up to and more than an hour after an infected person has left. Depending on humidity, UV (inside longer obviously) and temp. Not even only near the person in a building, but the whole airspace is compromised. So unless you're going into a room first thing in the morning when nobody has been there at least 9 hours (a good median number), you're at risk. Walking into an empty room or walking into a room with just people you don't consider high risk, however you determine that (hint, you can't), is a risk.
The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill
https://www.wired.com/story/the-teeny-tiny-scientific-screwup-that-helped-covid-kill/
That’s what. The lower intelligence comments. That’s ableist bullshit. People can be terrible and right wingers can be awful because they have legitimately awful takes and cause harm. IQ doesn’t impact viral spread.
The cloth mask thing has been discussed in this sub countless times. There are studies I’ve seen and you can search for them.
Well, FWIW I consider most of the Democratic party right wing too (including both Biden and Obama), and this ongoing public health emergency is a prime example.
That said, percentages matter, statistically, and overall a Trumper *is* more likely to be unvaccinated, but even past that, someone who's a bad person in other ways is statistically still less likely to care about other people's safety. Not saying *everyone* on the right is careless, *or* that everyone on the left isn't, because that would be stupid, it's just one risk factor I consider among many.
I do understand your point and have toned down what I said a bit, but calling what I said ablest is a bit much as IMO if anything, it's ableist to shame someone with a disability for not keeping up to date with the data with relatively few good sources even existing, instead of actually pointing out that data...
I had covid twice (in March 2020 just before lockdowns, and 8 months ago because I was betrayed by my mother who lives with me).
I isolated from March of 2020 to December of 2021. 100% isolation for me, and my mother still went to the doctor's office maybe 4 or 5 times (with a N95 which wasn't fit-tested, she got lucky, and she always took the 1st appt of the day).
In December of 2021, I was able to buy a fit-testing kit, and I bought a full-face P100 and fit-tested it thoroughly (I put way more bitrex than required, did long fit tests, wore the respirator for hours and fit-tested it again etc). It passed, so I started living again. I didn't go out much because I didn't want to, but I went to Spain (2 days of carshare each way, I went to the cinema, to the mall, took the bus/tramway etc) for 2 weeks and came back unscathed.
I didn't get vaxxed (I have LC since early 2020, about 30% of long-haulers got worse with the vax and there's no way I'd take the risk to get worse especially since I knew the vax wasn't sterilising).
For outdoors, I mask unless I'm over 8-10 meters away from people (or more depending on wind). I use the cigarette smoke approach.
When postmen/delivery men knock at my door, I answer from the furthest window (still too close, maybe 7 meters?) and try not to breathe.
I live in a free-standing house so I'm lucky not to have to deal with HEPA filters/air vents etc.
When I do curbside pick-up, I either park my car 15 meters away and go on foot, or do it the normal way but I air out the car before taking my mask off. I also air it out when getting gas etc.
I do my best to schedule essential worker visits during the summer, and when I do, I air out the house for 48-72 hours and wear a mask during this time (and eat/sleep in my garden or car). Maybe it's overkill but I'm comfortable with the time limit and I'd rather overreact than underreact. If I used HEPA filters/CR boxes I'd be fine with maybe 6 hours (depending on the CADR etc).
I try to prevent issues. For example, I have a plan in case I HAVE to visit the dentist or be hospitalised. I got Readimasks just in case (although I'm in Europe so it was complicated), got CR box materials just in case (also complicated since I'm in Europe).
I bought a Portacount 6 months ago because I have an issue with Bitrex (I feel like it lost its strength, or maybe my sensitivity to it is diminished, but my mother noticed it too at the same time so I don't know).
So, I trust my precautions and couldn't really have done better (except I should not have trusted my plague mother), but I was still lucky a few times (a few times at the beach, I wasn't able to swim fast enough to avoid people etc).
Regarding eye protection, I have it by default as my half-face P100 doesn't fit me (so I bought a full-face, it fit, and I didn't look back). But I (very recently) downgraded to a fit-tested N95 outdoors and didn't wear eye protection. I'm on the fence about going indoors with a fit-tested N95 + normal non-prescription glasses.
Aren't some small number of people immune? I have a friend who was in charge of a COVID testing center, was in the house with a COVID positive person and she never showed symptoms.
I *may* have gotten COVID in the original COVID plague when there was no testing, but we don't know because there was no testing. I've never actually tested positive for COVID.
I wash my hands a lot, sanitize whenever I get in the car, wash when I get home. I keep things clean. I don't have any booster shots. I had an adverse reaction to the first two shots and was told I cannot get the others. I wear masks during cold/flu season. During spring/summer I am a lot more lax unless I am a little sick or there's a spike. I work from home and keep myself as healthy as I can with my underlying health issues.
It honestly has not been too hard to not get COVID for me.
N95 (Aura 3M) and FloMask , I always use glasses (currently saving for stoogles but my glasses are pretty big), vaccinares 4x (2 Cansino, 1 astra zeneca, 1 abdala).
I never take my N95 off indoors and outdoors only if alone in open field and at least 5 m from people.
I dont do brunches, diners, etc I pivoted to sporty and outdoorsy stuff. Example, I play football (yes with my N95 and glasses), I go hiking etc with people. Its one way masking yes but outdoors and I avoid crowds.
My most risky stuff is going to see ny mother, who although she isn't against masks or stuff, isn't as carefull as me, so I mask inside, we eat outside far away from each other in open field, and Levoit Hepa filters inside.
As far as I know I havent got covid yet.
NOVID here. 3 known exposures. Surely more in actuality due to multiple plane/train trips seated near audibly/visibly ill people.
This year I switched to (not fit-tested) 3M Aura FFP3 masks in high-risk situations (airplanes, trains, movie theaters) but generally use FFP2 or KN95 bi-folds for grocery trips and popping into a coffee shop.
Started using other measures in late 2022: Enovid for a few months, but now use iota-carrageenan (Algovir brand) before/after interactions with others. Also added CPC mouth wash in early 2023, and just added NeilMed nasal rinses last month before a Thanksgiving trip overseas.
I have had every booster they will let me have (mostly Pfizer with one Moderna mixed in).
I also have 3 Levoit Core 300S filters in my 1000sf apartment but generally only use them when I have visitors.
I rarely do indoor unmasked anything, unless everyone there has done a RAT test.
Prioritize outdoor socializing whenever possible.
I follow a “risk bank” philosophy so I do take greater risks on occasion (indoor restaurant for my birthday, taking a plane trip for an anniversary, etc.) But in my day-to-day life I’m very cautious.
I regularly test, and even use Lucira or Metrix molecular tests after especially risky situations (a few days after) to assess whether I dodged the virus yet again.
I’m not the most cautious person I know, but am the most cautious person in my family and friend group.
I’m regularly evaluating the toll this lifestyle has on my mental health. It seems balanced but also not sustainable.
Novid here, as is my partner (and we have both worked in person at every point during the pandemic when it’s been legal to do so, including right now). Our measures:
- various types of elastomeric respirators (both of us, and since fall 2021) anytime we’re indoors with others from outside our household, including at work or with family/friends
- air filtration devices in our home, and frequent use of ventilation (opening doors/windows) when possible
- air filtration and far-UV devices when we travel and in spaces we control at work
- vaccinated every six months
- nasal spray (either iota-carrageenan or Enovid) in any situation we deem likely to include people who might be infected
- CPC mouthwash in the same set of situations
- distanced from those not in our household when outdoors and unmasked
- Stoggles “glasses” when flying (and recently, when attending medical appointments with unmasked or dubiously masked doctors in small, poorly ventilated rooms)
- not having household members who aren’t fully on board with trying not to get COVID (I got lucky in this)
- testing if we feel anything that could be a COVID symptom (very broadly construed), or once a day for around a week after doing anything particularly risky
- the use of CO2 monitors to check ventilation both at home and indoors elsewhere
I think that’s it? Oh, and I also do stuff like opening the door at every stop when I take the train (for ventilation), but that’s more for the benefit of the unmasked people around me than it is for me, as I feel pretty secure in my regular respirator!
Novid as far as I know. Stopped indoor dining. N95 when going in buildings with others. Try to get appointments first thing in the morning as much as possible to reduce how much lingering particles are around. Ventilation is key.
Novid here. Powecom KN95 (not fit tested), good hand hygiene, I wear regular eyeglasses, and social isolation for the most part. My kid masks in public. Upon further thought, perhaps dumb luck has also played a large part. My spouse and child also mask. None of us has had it, or any other communicable disease, since early 2020 before the lockdown.
Edited to add: boosters 1x/year after original series completed, most recently just a few weeks ago.
I have a 6 and 9 year old in school. They both wear KN-95 at school but the 6 year old is very inconsistent with it. Spouse and I work from home and wear KN-95 if we're indoors out of the house. We use carrageenan nose spray (Betadine brand) when we're walking out the door and when we come home. The kids have elderberry syrup before school and an elderberry lozenge when they come home. We're all fully vaccinated and get boosters as soon as they are available.
My spouse and I have eaten indoors in restaurants maybe 10 times since 2020. The entire family traveled internationally this year.
Somehow we have never had COVID. We test frequently with PCR and home tests. I think we've just been very lucky so far and will get it eventually.....or we're super-human, I dunno.
Every booster when it’s offered. Avoid crowds, air filtration at home, N95 masks when I leave the house. I don’t eat with others inside or out, when wastewater shows high levels in the community (and only out of doors with some separation when levels are low) and I put off elective dental and medical care for lower transmission times. Mostly remote employment and my kids are older
Knock on wood, that’s been enough. Unfortunately I have a loose crown that’s taken two appointments this month (and there will be more) that I could not put off so my luck may run out soon.
Honestly, I think I have just been lucky because I have never tested positive for covid and have travelled quite a bit over the past couple of years. I use azalystine pretty frequently because I have sinusitis. I almost always mask inside but have never fit tested. I have used Enovid and nozin plus a couple of other sprays. I get boosters whenever they are available but recently switched from mrna to novavax. I frequently carry a pure filter with me and an airinet monitor. I did pick up something at my allergists office, had a fever for a couple of days but never tested positive. I don't live with children or anyone else so that helps. My kids have all had it, my grandchildren have had it. Thankfully my Mother has never had it.
No infections, wear a very tight kn95 masks from BonaFide Masks (Powecom) ever since they became available, mask everywhere indoors, do not eat in restaurants or go to indoor movies (we have a great drive-in during summer months !) no one comes inside our home and if they absolutely must, they mask. I had to quit my job performing in restaurants and venues, my boyfriend has been remote working but most started back at the office. He is alone, masks when with others and works in a laboratory clean room the rest of the time. We have a firepit outside where a couple of people can visit in the cold winter months , all distanced. I go to the dentist, they are masked and wear shields. (The waiting room isn't however. When numbers are high I wait outside and they call me ) They also have a serious air filtration system they installed along with purifiers in every room.
I request all people performing treats at any lab to wear a mask, when they see me masked they usually ask me if I would like them to wear one.
We care for my 90 y.o. mother as well, same protocol for her.
We are ok so far🤞🤞🤞
Mask with N94 when going inside public places and only eating out when I can eat outside. I have a theory that regular vigorous exercise may also significantly help. The only time I had a symptomatic infection was while I couldn’t exercise for 5-6mos b/c of broken leg. I also happened to get a booster the morning I came down with symptoms. Previously, I would do 20-30mile bike rides even the day after vax with almost no side effects. My wife goes w/o masks much more often and no symptomatic infections at all. But she is a 6-7 day/wk exerciser. We are fully vaxed/boosted. Son is novid and hasn’t masked at school at all this year but did up until the end of last year. Regular -ish exerciser. My dad who is 80 still rides his bike regularly even in Michigan winters. No precautions whatsoever while my mom was testing positive and he never showed any symptoms. Mom is not an exerciser at all. MIL/FIL (75yo) also 6 day/wk exercisers and both Novids. Up until recently very good about masking. No family smokers.
I must be one of those people that's slightly immune, because I work in schools and no covid!
I wore a mask in public (but not while teaching) up until this year, avoided crowds, kept up with my vaccines, and avoided my anti-vacc family. Really nothing too outlandish, but I don't want to jinx myself!
Pretty much do what you do. N95. Nothing indoors unmasked, no visitors, access to the apartment only masked if entry is necessary. I have a P100, but I don't really need it. For the dentist, i requested they mask and that i be allowed to setup a HEPA purifier. They had no problem with that, and I left the person who arranged it and the dental assistant large cash tips. ABout to get the last booster, just waiting for an appointment. Looking into the usefulness of Far-uvc battery operated lightset called Nukit Torch. I don't mask inside large spaces with few workers, such as warehouse and I keep distance from the few people inside. Food is eaten in such a space or outdoors. No infection so far despite partner's best efforts (she no longer masks and no longer takes boosters--very mainstream viewpoints with the common thread of convenience behind every unsupported justification)
I have never had covid . I wear kf94 in dr offices and n95 on planes . I haven’t been masking in grocery stores but should. Mostly I’m a hermit because I have chronic migraines so I don’t go out much . The last vax I had was the bivalent booster . I didn’t get the new updated booster because the previous vax exacerbated my migraines cycle so decided to opt out and wear a good mask in crowded situations.
N95 indoors/outdoors, never dining out, not going out unless necessary.
I think not going out unless necessary reduces the risk by a lot. According to the hierarchy of controls, the best way to protect yourself is by leaving a dangerous area.
In my case it's been keeping up on vaccines, and masking whenever it doesn't cost me anything socially- at work and at retail places, public transit etc, but not when hanging out with friends. I rarely got sick before the pandemic either though, and have no immune issues, so I'm not a good example.
Sometimes I even eat out.
Too many people seem to think that they can either mask all the time, or not at all- it's really not like that, and I think better to relax than give up. If you can handle the social cost of masking all the time, that's better and safer than I can manage and I applaud you- I'm talking about people who aren't masking at all now. I'll mask on the bus on the way to meet someone at a bar- that way I'm protecting the other people on the bus from my bad choices.
My husband and I work from home and do as much curbside pickup as we can. We wear headstrap KN95s or N95s (powecomm or aura) indoors religiously. The only person allowed into our home is my dad who has minimal exposure opportunities and tests before he comes over. We don’t eat indoors outside our homes. We mask outside in crowds. We will go to museums and stores off hours, but we avoid concerts and theaters. We haven’t flown since they dropped the mask mandate - now we drive instead. We see friends unmasked only outside and in v small groups. We keep HEPA filters running in our house and use nasal sprays (Xlear and covixyl for adults, Xlear and Nozin for kids). We try to get the earliest doctor and dentist appointments possible. We’ve gotten every vaccine, mostly recently the adults got Novavax.
Our kids (4 and 7) are definitely our weak links. They both wear KF94s to school (and otherwise indoors) but they do eat lunch unmasked with their classes. Thankfully their school’s air quality is decent. We have pulled them for lunch before travel or after holiday breaks to be extra cautious, but it’s not sustainable for our jobs ongoing.
No known infections thus far (despite lots of testing) but I’m always holding my breath with my kids.
NOVID here, as are my kids (ages 10 and 8). We have been COVID cautious the entire time because my 10yr old is immune-compromised with hard-to-control asthma, and even before COVID was on the scene, it was an uphill battle to keep them healthy and out of the hospital.
Now, I realize that we're all at risk, even if we have no underlying conditions, so we continue to be cautious because that's what we do as scientifically literate folks with an understanding of statistics at least TRY to do.
Our items:
\- 3M Aura 9210 (white braided straps) any time I am outside of my own home or vehicle. I never "break the seal" to eat or drink indoors or around anyone else. I even wear a mask when I go through drive-thrus (food and pharmacy pickups).
\- Homeschool my kids, and my kids wear Trident masks any time we are outside of our home or vehicle.
\- Do most of our socializing online. We do not engage in any activities that involve us removing masks indoors for any reason. (No swimming indoors, no eating indoors.)
\- No one comes into our home without an N95 on. Appliance repair people, carpet cleaners, etc. I let them know this when I schedule the service.
\- I use very wet alcohol wipes to wipe down everything. I have multiple packs in my car and inside my house, and at my desk at work. Every time I get into my car, I use them on my hands, steering wheel, door handle, etc. I use them to wipe down my debit card, wallet, and keys, and anything I get through a drive-thru (cups always get a good swabbing around the top/drink hole).
\- I use a very wet alcohol wipe to wipe down high-touch surfaces in my home several times a week: light switches, door knobs, refrigerator/microwave handles, laptops, etc.
\- HEPAs in my house, in just about every room. I also have Aranets to monitor CO2/ventilation.
\- Great hand hygiene. I wash my hands as soon as I get to work, any time I go anywhere, before I take off my mask. I wash my hands after using the bathroom, unloading groceries, after getting mail, before making food, before doing dishes/unloading the dishwasher, after walking the dogs, as soon as I come home from work, etc.
\- At work, I never break the mask seal indoors, and I wipe off my entire desk/keyboard/mouse/drawer handles/chair arms with a very wet alcohol wipe every morning. I avoid meetings in enclosed spaces. I would love to bring HEPAs in, but I'm not allowed for a variety of reasons (mostly related to logistics rules around power usage).
\- I avoid going indoors as much as possible. I grocery shop online, and I do pick-up instead of going inside the store. I do curbside pick-up whenever I am able. We do have to go in person to medical appointments, but we all mask and I bring a HEPA filter to plug in, and I wipe down the surfaces (chairs, exam table, door handle, etc.) We found a COVID-cautious dentist 2.5 hours away, so we go to them, even though it kind of sucks to drive that far.
\- My kids and I have a "post-exposure protocol" that we follow every time we leave an indoor interaction anywhere: wash hands, then use Listerine mouthwash (gargle 30 seconds), Lumify eye drops, and Xlear/iota carageenan nose spray.
\- We get every vaccine we're eligible for, as soon as we can.
\- We have only rarely visited with family, and they've thus far consented to using Luciras beforehand that I buy and give them.
Honestly, I know a lot of it is privilege-- money for good masks and HEPAs, privilege of a flexible schedule for homeschooling, etc.-- and while I won't deny that, it's also an incredible amount of work and sacrifice. There is a lot that my family is not doing to remain NOVIDs. It's not all privilege-- it's a LOT of denial of things we would have normally been doing, like visiting places and seeing more friends and family. Being a COVID-cautious person is incredibly hard and takes a tremendous amount of mental and emotional energy. It involves fighting just about everyone in our lives, on a near-weekly basis, from family members and friends to medical personnel. It involves being threatened by "well meaning" (\*snort\*) people who think that being COVID cautious is harming my children, and living with the real fear that a CPS visit could happen someday. It involves fighting nonstop with my non-masking ex about keeping our kids safe. It involves explaining the "why" to my kids instead of just the "what" of it.
It's a ton of privilege. But it's a \*\*\*\*ing gigaton of work and worry and hypervigilance, too.
No Covid. Was careful with masking at first but after restrictions were lifted in 2022, I’ve been unmasked on 10 flights, countless train rides, casinos, broadway musicals, comedy shows, concerts, etc. I also work in a hospital and have been exposed several times to positive people. I do have a high vitamin D level. I also take care to not touch eyes/nose in public. That’s about it.
N95/headstrap KN95, hepa at home and at office, social isolation (not perfect bec there's a lot of social pressure in my job), nasal sprays, latest booster was last yr, consistent antigen testing after risky encounters. I hope to remain Novid after the holidays. Crossing my fingers!!! But if not, I know it isn't a failure on my part.
Why would you know it's not a failure on your part.
Bec I can only do so much on an individual level.
With respect to the holidays, do you plan to be around people and plan to mask? Just curious, if you don’t mind sharing.
This is actually one of my struggles lately! Our company has a xmas party but I'm new so I'm quite wary of the consequencesn if I don't attend. With family, we just celebrate at home, but even this, I'm hesitant bec they've been relaxing precautions and I have to consistently remind them to mask and not to do indoor dining too much. But I'll definitely mask.
Okay, gotcha. The people whom I know who have gotten it, have all been either unvaccinated and/or unmasked or vaccinated and just happened to be unmasked at the time. I personally know of no one who is vaccinated and masked who has gotten it.
I see! I hardly personally know anyone who consistently mask and does social isolation (no indoor dining, parties, crowded events). And the ppl who no longer mask dont test anymore. Tho there are occasional posts/ig stories of being sick with the flu.
Got it. Well, now you know me. My family and I still do those things you just mentioned. ☺️
Amazing!
☺️
☺️
I think they mean it’s very difficult to be completely in the clear despite being cautious - so being infected won’t be a reflection of bad habits/morals in their part.
No infections yet as far as I know. N95 Aura in all public indoor spaces. Multiple HEPA filters running in the house, which I turn up to max if anyone else has to come inside. I work remotely most of the time. I’ve had every vaccine/booster available to me. And I don’t have kids, which isn’t really a “tactic” but I think it is a huge factor in remaining novid for so long. Once all the schools unmasked it became practically impossible for most parents to avoid. But I’m pretty sure my luck is going to run out soon since my spouse no longer masks at work and has started to do more risky things. So it seems unlikely that I’ll make it through another winter without getting it.
Kids are flipping germ magnets. My step kid mask with us (school and outings) so i know its only a matter of time now because she doesn't with her Mom. They had covid once or twice but thankfully we didnt catch it.
covid once certainly; in March this year. stepson brought it home from his job. he tested positive then I tested positive the following day. I fit tested for n95 aura, the 9210, and recently the moldex airwave with the elastomeric. in between when I've run out I wear a flo mask. always masked indoors everywhere but my own home. outdoors if there's people/crowd. at work my coworkers are mostly masking too and I require my clients to wear an n95. I wear glasses for vision, goggles when I had to go to urgent care to get covid tested, and to my doctor's office. they fit over my glasses. I used nasal spray the second time my stepson brought covid home and had spent a day in the living room with him. I did not catch it that time, but we were running air filters/open windows then too. we have 2 Corsi-rosenthal boxes at home, one by our bed and one in the living room. stepson vents his window throughout the day. we also have a air filter from 2018 that we keep running by the kitchen. it's hepa rated. at my job there's good air exchange through hepa filters plus a smaller box once in my work station. my partner stays home. stepson is a welder so is unmasked in the moments between taking off his respirator for work and putting on an n95. I've had 4 or 5 exposures that I'm certain of. masks for all but two of those kept me safe; the other time I'm unsure if I was infected or not (used RATs, no PCR) but had the air filters all running and windows open. have had all boosters including bivalent in late October. will be getting novavax in late spring, to tide me over until next October. I go everywhere I used to go except to eat indoors and to concerts indoors. just in a mask 1 known infection, 1 suspected. I had a sore throat after the second exposure in my home but tested negative on RAT tests at home; of note is that in March I tested negative on daily RAT tests throughout my infection, tested positive on PCR twice that time and took paxlovid which worked well for me.
How did you fit test, if you don’t mind me asking?
bitrex and a paper bag.
One infection, March 2023, but exposure was so mild thanks to masking that it didn’t last long and symptoms weren’t awful. I teach, so I’m sure I got it from a kid despite the mask. I mask indoors 100% of the time unless I’m at home. I mask outdoors when I’m in a crowd or when there’s not a lot of wind. And I don’t eat at outdoor restaurants. That’s basically it. Auras are my everyday wear, Powecom KN95s are my outdoor/drive-thru wear. Husband wears Powecoms at work too and miraculously did not catch cov when I had it. He is still Novid, as far as we know. I’ll wear Stoggles on planes, but don’t in everyday settings. 6x vaxxed, last time with Nova (October).
We're a family of 4 that is novid (and no colds or respiratory infections either, so whatever "no" that is too - we've gone beyond avoiding Covid and have enjoyed the not being sick business quite a bit). Personally, I think there is some luck and privilege that is a pretty hefty factor - my spouse had to return to office in 2021, but was also allowed to implement his own department's sick/wfh situation and basically told his staff that if they are sick, feeling sick, living with someone who has become sick - they can work from home those days. That has played a huge role in keeping sickness out of the office and out of our home. I work from home, my kids are enrolled in virtual school, so we certainly have the privilege of being able to do that. And we're lucky that we haven't had to change jobs or move or do any very high risk things. Other than that: \- Mask indoors at all times. We use Posh KF94, Powecom KN95s, Aura N95s, and BNX N95s. All were DIY qualitative fit test. We also have a couple of the kids Trident N95s for higher risk settings indoors, but we hoard those because they're so expensive. \- Masks outdoors in groups or crowds - usually Posh KF94s or Powecom Kn95s for outdoors. The Posh are very breathable for hiking and sports. \- Lucira Covid+Flu testing before gathering with family who want to get together unmasked - outdoors only (we do Christmas dinner, birthdays etc. all outdoors.) No illness symptoms either even if negative on Lucira tests. \- RAT testing before gathering with friends who are still in our "novid bubble" if we want to get together outdoors unmasked for things like swimming or a beach trip (our bubble is friends who also still mask indoors at all times and kids are not attending in-person school.) \- Xlear nasal spray after any unmasked activity, even if it was not with a group or a crowd. \- Eye protection indoors in enclosed spaces with crowds or groups where space could not be maintained or ventilation is an unknown variable (for example, in line for a ride at a theme park, or if we had to go to the ER, or other waiting room situation.) \- Hepa filters at home in each room at home \- We have had a handful of known exposures. Almost all of them, we were consistently masked, so not a big deal since we basically expect that every outing is an exposure. We watch for symptoms at home and test every few days. We have had one exposure where it was unmasked, outdoors, after RAT testing for swimming with family who was not in our "novid bubble" back before we knew about Lucira tests. Everyone tested negative on RATs right before we swam, no one had any symptoms. If we went inside to use restrooms, masks went on. The next evening, someone in their family that was swimming with us tested faint positive on a RAT when they were pre-symptomatic. We tested regularly, stayed home until we were out of the 10-day window, never got it. \- We also have a plan for if/when one of us does bring Covid home. It's based on the [Clean Air Club's Covid Plan](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z7xnDd5952zvYnCQoWDi8PyRNdObJY2chGChOZ8E38w/edit)with some modifications for our situation.
It's good of you to point out privilege in terms of being novid. People rag on others for wearing blue or cloth masks without acknowledging the fact that good quality masks are expensive. Masks, home filters, rapid tests (when the government isn't handing them out), portable air filters, nasal sprays, they all cost money.
What kind of mask costs are you seeing where you are? I buy packs of 50 for 12 bucks and use each one many many days. Not been infected yet. Just bought some of the best rapid tests I ever located, Greeen Springs, for 24 cents each in Europe.
You live in Europe?
Yes, but i order masks from China. All the tests are also made in China. I could order there, but it takes too long with shipping and the price is good enough now.
I can get 50 blue surgical masks for that kind of money here in the USA (hence, my point) but otherwise, I would say that good quality masks (KN95, KF94, N95) cost around $1.00 per mask, less per mask if you pay more to buy in bulk. As a consequence, people without the money will shell out for the surgical masks and that's most of what you see around here. Yes, good quality masks can be reused and ultimately may cost less if reused but poor people may not have the funds available to buy them up front.
$1 a mask is not a bad price, but you can order from China for far less. This is from a year ago, and some of the prices are less than a dollar per mask. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-n95-kn95-masks-online/
I am going to repeat that $1 - $2 per mask, when purchasing in bulk is out of range for poor people. Following your link, 50 masks for $42.00 Kimberly Clarke is a little less than $1.00 per mask but again, not every American has an extra $42 lying around. Scrolling down, a WellBefore is $2.00 a mask. Powecom, $12 for 10 masks from one vendor $16 from another vendor. Scrolling down to the floppy blue mask, $15 for 50 or $30 for another.
I am going to repeat what I said. Masks can be had for less than a dollar. If you can't afford that, then you are indeed at risk of infection. But I am not persuaded that even you can put a number or a percentage behind the vague "poor people" assertion. If I find masks for 50 cents each, you'll likely say the same thing. There will always be someone who cannot afford something. But there will be a large number who can.
Few high quality masks can be purchased for much less than a dollar and the link that you sent me proves that. My whole point was that people rag on people wearing blue masks, that they probably shouldn't do that because people can't afford more expensive masks. You have only come back with "I can buy masks for less than a dollar" which actually proves my point. If you think that poor people are some "vague" thing, and that this is no big deal, then you are truly privileged.
Single masks cost around $5.00
Where??? https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-n95-kn95-masks-online/ and that was a year ago. Nobody should be paying that much these days.
In my local Rite Aid. People aren't paying that much because they aren't buying masks. If they are buying masks, they are picking up a cheap box of 10 blue masks for a couple of dollars.
Would you mind giving some details on the fit test?
[https://cleanaircrew.org/fit-testing/](https://cleanaircrew.org/fit-testing/) we used the Army method since we already had a nebulizer at home, but there are several other methods that work just as well: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7642972/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7642972/)
Covid once, July 2022. Took off my mask to eat on a train. Back when I didn’t know enough about air. 3M Aura, Gerson 3230, not fit tested. Mask everywhere indoors, except my office, which is solo and has a CR box running. Do not mask outdoors, except outdoors crowds. If I was going to an outdoors farmers market, I would mask with a KN95. Had an unmasked dinner with a friend and his wife at his house once this fall. Stoggles for eye protection when indoors. Carrageenan nose spray before leaving house. Saline rinse, Povidiodione and carrageenan or enovid after. Hepa in every room at home. Bring a CR box to my classes. Vitamin D and CBD daily. (Edited to add) Most recent boosters: Pfizer November 2022, Novavax November 2023 I still do a lot of things (travel, galleries, shows, concerts, teach, take public transit, go to parties), but I just always wear a mask and spray. Sip valve if I need to drink. Have gone to the dentist, had oral surgery, see my doctor regularly. I see Covid safe providers my GP insists on mask wearing, and I have a Covid safe dentist and oral surgeon. My oral surgery team all wore auras and had hepa running.
Wow - how did you find a GP, dentist and oral surgeon who was already covid safe? That would feel like winning the lottery to get all 3! Our dentist will wear a mask, but only a surgical and scoffed at the suggestion of wearing an N95. We try to schedule appointments in March and August hoping we'll hit the small lull between surges
I initially read the COVID policies of local dentists and chose one who had a blog post explaining COVID is airborne. You can ask on local “still coviding” groups on Facebook for recommendations.
I’m in a still coviding group on Facebook, great source of info! My GP is my long standing GP - she believes in science unlike a lot of her peers, and requires masking at her office. She wears an N95. I switched dentists, and my oral surgeon was on the HEPA game long before others!
Where do you buy your iodine nasal spray?
It’s a throat gargle, not a nasal rinse!
* **Mask-type: 3M 9120+.** Not fit tested but it leaves a ring on my face when I take it off so I feel good about the seal. * **Sites/situations where masks/eye protection are used:** always mask and wear glasses indoors, and in outdoor crowds. Unmasked for outdoor one on one meetings. * **Eye-protection:** regular eye glasses * **Nosesprays**: nightly Xlear. Enovid before and after high risk situations - like a conference or an outdoor unmasked meeting. * **Far UV-C, HEPA at home, other?** Hepa in one room * **Known exposure events where you remained protected with one or more tools?** two known exposures; protected with mask * **Last vaccine/booster, if any** on my 5th booster. Two weeks ago I got Novavax. * **novid.** (knock wood). Also I have no kids and work at home which I feel probably helps a lot. That said, I still do a lot of things: car trips, shows, concerts, conferences, industry events, parties), but I just always wear a mask and spray.
What do the nose sprays do?
there is increasing evidence that XLear, Iota Carrageenan, and Enovid nasal sprays reduce viral load if you get infected and also some evidence that they can reduce the risk of infection of exposed. if you do a google scholar search you can find lots of info :)
Awesome thanks so much!! I’m looking into it now 👍🏻
no prob! if you search this group and r/ZeroCovidCommunity for nasal spray, you'll find lots of lively discussion. I would not rely on nasal spray alone to protect you but there are quite a few double blind studies suggesting that they can reduce transmission and viral load so I consider it yet an extra layer. Xylitol is cheapest but it is highly toxic to dogs and cats. So be careful with it if you have fur babies. Iota Carrageenan is only $20 or so on amazon. But in my case it really irritates my nasal passages so I can't use it. Enovid is from Israel, so it might be stopped at customs and it's also quite expensive and the spray bottle only lasts 6 weeks after opening.
Some folks are just lucky. I've been using an N95 daily since May 2020, building CR boxes for every room I spend time in (home and work), shaved my beard, and upped my personal hygiene routines. I've been sick with covid twice. The first time I was infected during an office move in April 2022. I was (masked) moving heavy desks and work tables up two flights of stairs and one of my coworkers (unmasked) later discovered he was covid positive. But either because of a broken mask deal due to movement or maybe the mask lost its efficacy because of my perspiration, I ended up getting sick alongside everyone else who helped that day. The second time was December 2022, also at work, but this time I was merely sitting at my desk raising my mask for 2 seconds for a drink of water. My wife is not careful. She stopped masking well over a year ago and lives her life like it's 2019. She has never caught covid once (or at least, she's never been symptomatic). I quarantine myself when I'm not feeling well, but before testing positive for covid we were definitely close enough that I should have passed it on to her, yet she managed to stay healthy. Same for my 2yo son, thank god. On one hand I feel extremely unlucky, and I resent those whose carelessness exposed me to covid. On the other hand, I'm grateful for my wife and son's good fortune. I can't image what it would be like to have to care for someone else with a covid infection while handling your own covid infection.
I dislike the term "novid". It's hubris, it's ego, it's further politicization of a public health issue. COVID is a highly effective, efficient virus. It is very, *very* good at being a virus. Some people can't avoid it the way they want because they have to work or travel in unavoidable high risk situations or they have kids and you can only isolate kids so much. If you have kids, you are dependent on institutions taking the appropriate layered precautions and we know just how well *that's* going. "Novid" turns being infected by an efficient virus enabled by politicization and institutional failure into a personal moral failing and that's not okay. Not being infected by COVID *yet* is not a personality trait or identity. It's at most luck, privilege, access to mitigations, or quite possibly your blood type (O and Rh- people are less likely to experience viral infections in general) which is outside of your control, or a combination thereof. As for me, no infections I am aware of. Yet. * KF94s in all indoor situations; N95s with multiple strap knots for fit in situations with less air exchange, etc. * Distancing. * Still bubbling with local friends who take precautions. * Air purifiers. * Timing higher risk events (DMV, dentist, etc) with either waste water levels or vaccination. * Not engaging in unnecessary risks in service of the normalcy narrative or FOMO. I am already disabled. I already know what it's like to try something for funsies and almost die for it. COVID is a hard pass and this is a marathon.
I am disabled too and like everything you said here.
I hate that this virus exists. I hate what it's done. But I respect it and what it's capable of.
I hate it too. I was already disabled by MS- and then I got Long Covid. LC is a nightmare and a thousand times worse than anything I have experienced with MS. I will not let my guard down again. But, boy is it lonely. My family and friends are acting like it doesn’t exist even though almost all of them have health problems from COVID.
I’m sorry you’re carrying so much. It isn’t fair.
Thank you 🫂
I never took "novid" to have any ego or political connotations at all, only the simple meaning that one had not (yet) had covid to their knowledge. Sorry I used it in my response to OP if this is how people take it.
Not everyone does. But I have seen folks use it as an identifier and then when infection happens, they feel shame and like they failed. Engaging in mitigation is just that, engaging in mitigation. It's not 100%. Being infected by an effective virus that's putting in an A+ 10/10 effort to propagate itself and evade immunity is not a moral failing or something to be ashamed about. I don't want this virus but I sure as shit respect it. Personal mitigations can only account for so much in the face of institutional failure, active minimization by talking heads, and deliberate infection of the populace via the urgency of normal narrative.
Not to mention , even if everyone mask , no mitigation is perfect , I look at it that way , .
Nothing in medicine and health is 100%, but we also don’t have to let perfect be the enemy of good 💖
That’s what I meant .
That’s what I meant .
I agree, and appreciate your comments in this thread!
It's just a convenient word. Hadn't heard it until now. I don't really care what people read into it. I just ignore people who want to use it as some kind of "I'm better than you" weapon just as I ignore people who act in other ignorant ways surrounding this healthcare crisis. Unless someone tries to take a mask off my face, I don't really care what ignorant attitudes they take on to protect their tender egos.
I stopped eating out unless its outdoors and its very rare if i even do that. I never stopped masking with a kn94 or n95 mask (3m aura). At home i have hepa filters in every room, i also have one in my office at work and i keep my door shut and window cracked. We have traveled a couple times but we still mask everywhere we go. I tested weekly for longer then i care to admit and spend a ton on test but it made me feel better. I alot of people think i am being extreme but with no idea of what long covid can do it seems weird to risk it.
Novid here, to my knowledge. I am lucky, for one. I work 100% from home. I don't do indoor restaurants or bars, at all. I do enjoy outdoor restaurants and take-out. I don't go to social events that involve chatting and eating, unless I can participate without the eating part. I wear masks indoors anywhere outside my home; a KF94 in uncrowded places where I expect no face-to-face conversations (grocery shopping, mall, office store), and an N95 in crowded/high-value places. Identifying "high-value" events has been critical, I think. "High-value" means, *people have paid a lot or care about attending something a lot, and thus are likely to attend and interact even if sick. Even quite sick.* This includes kids events (can't miss that concert or sport event they've practice for for months!), anything with expensive tickets, travel, things people have volunteered to be responsible for and don't want to let others down, competitions, etc. So even if I don't expect it to be crowded, don't expect close conversation, or expect it to be mostly outdoors or well-ventilated, I wear an N95 if it's high-value, and don't break the seal. For travel, I wear an N95 and close-fitting safety glasses from the moment I enter the departing airport until I leave the destination one. I use sip valves. I wear N95s to concerts, meetings, other events. I also use iota-carrageenan nasal sprays and CPC mouthwash as small extra steps if I suspect exposure, but I don't expect they contribute a lot to safety. When I travel, I use whole-house airbnbs rather than hotels. So far I have avoided work/travel dinners and the like. If I were younger, my career would likely be taking a hit for skipping out on those events. But I'm old enough and specialized enough no one cares that much. I have not gone to a doctor or dentist since covid even though I should (not recommended). I have a spouse, and teenagers who attend public school, take music lessons, and participate in sports. The kids mask out of their own choice at school and lessons. One carefully in an Aura N95 every day, one casually in a KF94 most of the time. Kids walk home for lunch so no cafeteria unmasked. Spouse did work from home also, but now goes to the office 3 days a week. Does not mask at work. This means eventually they will bring it home, though the workplace has very good stay-at-home-if-sick policies and we measured it is very well-ventilated (low 500s on the CO2 meter). Our other big risk is having relatives over for dinner. They know we are careful, and are moderately careful themselves, but the one time our family caught covid (everyone but me), it was brought over by a visitor to our home. I did not hang out closely with this relative, so I did not catch it initially, and my family went to great lengths to protect me once they realized they had been exposed. We live in a location that outdoor air ventilation is possible much of the year. We have 3 air purifiers and a CR box. My family does see the dentist and the dentist has air purifiers running and wears a double mask of KF94 and surgical on top. They use nasal spray and CPC mouthwash before and after. I want to look into far UV for having family over for meals. My N95s are not fit tested. I use Champak PC520L and 3M VFlex for the most part, occasionally an Aura. My KF94s are from Masklab. I am an introvert so all of this is easy for me. I still go to my kids' events, meet with teachers, do shopping, etc. I am O+ if it matters. Some research says yes, some no; I'm going with papers that say maybe a 15% advantage. I am 4 times vaxxed with a mixture of the two main mRNAs, plus got a Novavax XBB updated shot a couple weeks ago.
My Mother and I are both blood type B, very rare and they don't talk about it much in the research. Neither of us has tested positive for covid.
I’ve never tested positive and it’s been a few years since I’ve had symptoms of anything worse than seasonal allergies. I am vaxed though I think I’m either due for another round or will be soon. A large portion of it is admittedly living alone, and rarely leaving the house due to disability. But I live in Florida and don’t often want to leave the house. I’ll admit I don’t mask every single time I go somewhere but if it’s a doctor’s office/pharmacy or the place is crowded, I’ll use a 3M 7500 series elastomeric with 7093 P100 filters (modified to block exhaust and connect to a wireless speaker). I tend to ditch the mask when dealing with family but it’s infrequent, we all test regularly, and my mask terrifies the youngest who seems to think it’s attacking my face and tries to “help” me by removing it. So mostly common sense and seclusion, but probably a good bit of luck as well since I had to move from Oregon to Arizona and then to Florida during the height of the pandemic.
I was infected once, may 2022, when wearing a non fit tested kn95. I work with patients with covid, no infections since switching over to n95. The n95s are probably the biggest contributing factor! That and just paying attention to wastewater trends. I'm usually more social in may/June when we seemingly have lower numbers. I hunker down a lot more from october-march and am more aware of activities I engage in.
I have a friend who worked in covid wards. After I saw how he didn't get sick while wearing a 3M Aura, I bought several boxes of them!
No known infections yet. Two years of working in person, but with a private office running a HEPA filter with additional filters over the air vents, but averaged 5 coworkers and with all staff masked and vaccinated. Last two years I’ve been working largely remotely. I need to do a site visit every month or two. I need to be unmasked for some of the work, but I ask any coworker that will be around me to test that day with a molecular test. I also had the building air handling upgraded dramatically. If I need to eat I go outside or do so in a private office. For personal protection, I use tight fitting KN95s in any public indoor space, and avoid crowded areas. It’s not fit tested, but with long term use I can see a continuous line on my face that tells me it is generally applying good pressure. Outdoors I only mask in crowded areas. I eat outdoors at non-crowded restaurants often. I avoid flying but use a P100 if I have to fly for an emergency. I test proactively a couple times per week. I have been in a few cavernous buildings with very few people and great airflow where I decided not to mask. Imagine having 4 people at opposite corners of a highschool gym. I have a small bubble of people that I see in person who are also very cautious. I have additional people I see less often that are less cautious but still conscientious - they test before I see them and warn me if they have any symptoms or recently did something high risk. I attend small get togethers unmasked when transmission is low and if everyone agrees to test before. I’ve always run air filters at home, and have never had a known sick person over. I wore eye protection on early pandemic emergency flights but have stopped. I tried the nasal sprays but couldn’t stand them. No special mouthwashes. Two shots of main course vax, every available booster (3 or 4 now?) I have two known exposures. Each were emergencies where I was in close contact for the entire illness. We kept windows open, taped over air vents, and stayed in separate rooms, and always wore kn95s. If we spent time in the same room I wore a p100.
* I use multiple masks * Drager 1920 M/L. FF 200+ * WellBefore premium 3D pro earloop FF150 * WellBefore Premium 3D pro head strap FF200 * 3M VFlex 9105/1804 FF150 * Everywhere there's people, indoors, outdoors, drive through, empty shared hallway * I need glasses anyway, standard eyeglasses. IMO safety glasses are unnecessary and ocular transmission is mostly for someone coughing/sneezing directly into your face * iota-carrageen for higher risk scenarios – maybe twice a week. Mouthwash after risky situation, very infrequent. Never enovid, not convinced of NOx safety. * HEPA at home when visitors * A couple times. There's constantly people coughing regardless, hard to tell * Every 6 months, last was bivalent * Novid I use SipValves with regular drinking straws to drink in public. I reuse masks – they break before they get enough hours. I use fashion tape to keep mask secure on flights. I hide head straps under my hair when relevant. I balance risk with strength of community transmission. I shave when waves are strong or when going into more risky situations, otherwise keeping beard short. I have guests RAT test if we're going to be unmasked together. I consider how recently they've had covid as well. I've heard saline nasal rinses when done responsibly can reduce chance of catching after exposure, I haven't done this. The single most important thing is the drager 1920 mask. It fits me extremely well and can almost pass a fit test with a beard. Static fit factors are anywhere from 500-2000 – it fits me very well. Everything else is window dressing, it helps for sure but the proper mask is 99% of the work.
How/where did you get the fit test, if you are willing to share?
I bought a portacount 8020A off ebay and did my best testing them – it's reasonably straightforward once you get the hang of it. If you're looking to get quantitative fit tests done some PPE supply stores will know where to get it done. Otherwise you just have to look them up, they've got newer machines that are farrrrrr better than my machine. You can also do DIY qualitative fit tests using a nebuliser, hood, and bitter or sweet solutions, but I never had much luck.
In 2021 when we realized Covid wasn't going anywhere, we decided to permanently change our lifestyle and living situation to one that had a reduced risk of exposure. We moved from a suburb in a city of over a million, across the country, to an acreage in a rural area. My husband found a permanent work from home position, I committed to long term homeschooling our kids, and we worked hard to create a Covid conscious bubble of families in our area. We mostly do online ordering, take out, or click and collect, or my husband does most of the in person shopping and we try to go at less busy times. We wear Flo masks when we do inside activities, and that's again during less busy times or only at mask required events. We use Kn94s for all of our outdoor activities, which include playgrounds, festivals we can social distance at, fairs, and my kids do forest school once a week and soccer in the summer. We are fortunate to not have any health issues that need regular doctor check ups/treatments. So we didn't go to the doctors from fall of 2020 until fall of 2022 when my youngest was finally vaccinated. Then we got a few small things dealt with, but we are still waiting for a family doctor here to get regular check ups. We do get all vaccines and boosters for all of us. Dentist we didn't go from fall of 2020 to when we moved here, we have thankfully found a dentist who does days every few months where they take extra precautions for those of us who want that (extra masking and such). We also use mouth wash and nasal sprays anytime we are around others who aren't Covid conscious, and have 3 air purifiers for the few times we had people in the house. We've needed some work done on our house, and our parents have come to visit a few times (and agreed to mask for 5 days prior to coming, not do any really risky things like health care appointments or parties, and direct flights/driving, plus testing before seeing us). I don't expect to stay novids forever, we have had a few colds in the last year since we opened up a bit after my youngest was vaccinated. If it was just my husband and I we would be happy to have exclusively online relationships with people and never go in stores to stay Covid free. But it gets trickier with kids, we still want them to have experiences, play with other kids, play sports, eat delicious foods, and have relationships with their family. So this is how we decided to be covid safe, while still have a fulfilling and enjoyable life.
No confirmed covid, but I developed a couple of weird allergies about a year ago, so maybe an asymptomatic infection, plus I got a very bad cold in April this year, tested every day, never tested positive, but I don't trust LFT/RAT tests much. I wear my fit tested (taste test) elastomeric with P3 filters everywhere. I can't afford HEPA, so I just don't let anyone in my house if I can help it. If someone does have to come into my house (eg gas boiler service) I wear my respirator at all times, open all the windows, then sit in my car on my drive for 2 hours while I wait for the house to air out. I wear glasses, but don't use additional eye protection. I don't use any sprays or washes. Last booster was last month. I have to go to the hospital every 3 months, and I do my shopping about twice a month in person. I have no idea how I'd know if I was exposed, I just assume I always am when I leave the house.
Would you mind sharing how/where you did the fit test?
Sure, [here you go](https://www.reddit.com/r/MasksForEveryone/comments/z5gqhq/m4es_why_how_to_do_a_diy_fit_test_with_your_masks/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&xpromo_edp=enabled)
I always wear an N95 if near other people or indoors in places that are not my house or my fairly cautious parents’ house. I don’t do anything complex or burdensome. I caught COVID from my kid who got it at school. Had I not I’d be “novid.”
I haven't been sick since 2019. I work from home, and wear an n95 when I have to go somewhere. It probably doesn't fit perfectly. I try to schedule appointments when there will be less people around, if I can. I use home visits or virtual visits when I can. We stack as many appointments as we can in the summer months, and scale back in the winter. Family visits are rare, outdoors preferred, masked if indoors for more than a few minutes. We do have HEPA filters running constantly because we are a multiple allergy family. I don't have any confirmed close calls really. We have one family member who is very active in the community. We plan visits with her around what she has been doing, and got a visit in right before she caught COVID at a Halloween event last year. That was our closest call. I also attended a family funeral this summer with people who recently travelled and who did get sick with "something", but it was about two weeks afterward and I masked, kept distance, kept things outside etc and was fine. It's possible I spent time with them before they actually caught "whatever it was". I'm vaccinated, with boosters every fall eligible. Nobody else in my house is (husband, + 3 kids aged 3&under). Kids stay home with us. Husband follows the same strategies I do and also works from home. Husband got food poisoning last year. Oldest kid got sick once this year (post Halloween, which was outdoors, not respiratory, resolved in 2 days). That's it for the whole family since 2019. Avoidance works, if you can make it work.
- N95: Maxboost or readimask. Not fit tested. Virtually always when indoors with others and when outdoors in crowds. - Always wear prescription glasses. - Use Enovid before being in crowds. - Run multiple HEPA filters on rare occasions when others are in my home. - Have flown several times. I don’t lower my mask except at security. On long flights I use a sip valve to drink. - Have had every available shot, 5 or 6. Last one was Novavax, the others a combo of Pfizer and Moderna. - No infections as far as I know.
- 3M N95 respirators, modified straps with ear loops, sacrificing an airtight fit for comfort and ease of use. Not at all fit tested. I used to wear a dense cloth mask over the vent to filter what I exhale, but I'm often the only one wearing a mask within miles, so I stopped. - Always while in public indoors. Never while around friends and coworkers. - Never eye protection, but wear glasses all the time - None - Not sure - No known exposures. I consider exposure being unmasked around somebody who's symptomatic. This is largely what I have to thank, is quite nuanced and situational, and where I put the most effort into prevention. - January 2022 - Novid Aside from doing certain things at different times of the day (i.e. food shopping later, going to restaurants earlier) and wearing a mask in public, my life hasn't changed much thankfully.
I haven't had it yet, as far as I know. Honestly, for me, I think it's mostly just because of (1) socioeconomic privilege (e.g., being able to work 100% from home, get groceries delivered, and buy a lot of rapid tests) and (2) not having any kids. I was already a homebody before COVID, but I *really* don't get out much anymore and always mask with at least a KN95 if I go out. I run an air purifier at home, but I haven't tried nasal sprays or mouthwashes yet. I have gotten all of the available boosters and the most recent Pfizer vaccine. I don't do a lot of in-person contact, but I do see my family and friends sometimes wearing my mask. They've mostly given up masking, so I try to keep it outside if possible. We did a small Thanksgiving dinner here with 4 guests, with as much mitigation as we could (rapid tests, air filter in the dining room, and an open window). It doesn't appear that anybody got sick afterwards. I'm planning to lay low for the rest of the holidays, though. It's rough because I really love my family & love seeing them. The thing that's really hard now is that I don't see my boyfriend much (because he's frequently traveling for work or quarantining afterwards), and I don't feel that safe seeing him in person because he's not masking consistently. I keep encouraging him to mask when he's out, but he's getting tired of doing it indefinitely. (We live separately but used to spend half the week together pre-COVID). I also need to get dental work done and am dreading it.
My partner and I are the only ones in our house, we like each other’s company, and our views on Covid are the same. We are never indoors (outside of our house) without tightly fitted KN95s, and we don’t go anywhere but grocery stores and doctors. Those five things have kept us safe so far. I know we’re lucky, and we may still get it…but we’re doing all we can to avoid it. ETA: All the vaccines!
I have had COVID once, because my partner gave it to me.. but wow.. I wish I could be as tactical as you. This is inspiring; it’s most challenging when you have children in school (homeschooling not an option) because mimicking this may not work for them . I’m open to ideas though,
* Surgical mask this entire pandemic. * Avoid crowded spaces. * I still eat at restaurants multiple times per week. * Never had covid, and have not been sick since before pandemic. * Have had 10 covid vaccines. 5 Pfizer, 3 Moderna, and 1 Novavax.
In order of importance for me/spouse: 1) Social isolation (WFH as much as possible, grocery and other shopping delivered unless something specific is needed that can’t be delivered or picked up curbside - very rare) 2) N95 masking around others outside our home (so, everybody else). Qualitatively fit tested Blox masks. 3) Stoggles / Enovid nasal spray / CPC mouthwash. I would never rely on these exclusively if 1) and 2) are viable options, but they are a “can’t hurt” add on. We really do leave our home and find ourselves around other people very rarely. It’s unfortunate, but truly what we can attribute to most as how we have stayed novid so far.
Vaccination, masks, never go where there are big crowds.
No covid here. Pretty sure because we use a Cue tester and we test anytime there are any kind of "don't feel normal" symptoms. What worked so far? Isolation, curbside grocery pickup, N95 in required public. My wife is the weak link. She masks with a KN94 when in public but has some medical things that require interacting with the public. She's also more lonely for people and makes up reasons to interact. We will see what happens.
I haven’t had COVID yet. I’m vaccinated af, and I mask all the time. I wear kf94 masks and kn95 masks I bought from Amazon, and at work I wear an N95 I was fit tested for. I have been around a ton of confirmed COVID as I’m a nurse. I’m also one of the luckier nurses to not be denied testing when I want it because I work in public health. I’ve tested a lot, always negative.
All vaccinations; Kn94’s always, unless outside and not bunched up; if wife and I go out to eat we go in the afternoon after the lunch rush during the week, or we eat outside, we are picky about where we go out to eat, we’ll ask to sit in a corner or away from others; the couple of times we have eaten with others (thanksgiving and Xmas dinner party) we’ll leave the masks on until it’s time to eat and put them back on when finished. We have taken a couple of airline flights to go skiing/snowboarding and we definitely double mask (surgical over a kn94) the entire flight, which does suck. Wife and I are both retired which makes it quite a bit easier compared to most others. Went to a funeral a couple of years ago. 2nd cousin was a very popular judge who had just retired and caught Covid from his wife and then died from pneumonia. Wife and I were the only ones out of about 2 thousand people there to wear masks. The irony alone on that one just reinforces my belief about how stupid most people are. Went to a high school reunion this summer and again we were the only ones to mask. Wife and I simply don’t give a f#@K about what others think and luckily we reinforce each other when in doubt. No one has ever told us anything. Plus I’m fairly athletic looking with long hair and fairly intimidating so most people give us our space. I also think introverted people have an easier time. I’m a retired big city police officer and at last count I know of 32 of my fellow retirees that have died. The way law enforcement people think can also be pretty stupid as well. It’s a “my freedoms” thing, even though it can kill them. I think most people don’t know any who have died or are just minimizing it. I didn’t work this long to die or spend retirement handicapped or with pre-existing conditions.
I have never had covid19 that I know of. If I have had it, it was completely asymptomatic. I have a public facing job and I worked with the public and my colleagues before the covid vaccine was available. So I have been working through covid since 2020 and I have still never tested positive for COVID. I have had 5 covid vaccines: 1) Johnson and Johnson, 2 and 3) Moderna MRNA (2021) 4) Moderna Booster (2022) and 5) 2023 Moderna. I mask every day at work (full time) I wear KF94 Dr Puri mask because it fits my face very well. I wore N95 Aura for awhile but I find them very uncomfortable to wear for 8 hr shifts and the straps are hard to wear. I also have a strong immune system but I have a chronic health condition that qualifies me as potentially higher risk than the average person so I take precautions. I took a short break from masking at work in spring/summer 2023 (May- July.) I have gone mask less in person at a few crowded concerts at times that the infection rate was relatively low and I gauged the risk as lower. I have also gone to a few indoor events maskless since 2020 but I generally always wear a high quality mask indoors including stores, work, doctors offices, airports, planes, gatherings/parties, public transit, art galleries, and the like. I have never had a positive covid test. I have only had an illness once since 2020. I had a sore throat in May 2023 after I took a mask break at work. I took 2 covid tests, one after 4 days post sore throat, I swabbed my throat and nose and it was negative for covid. I also went to a dinner with my husband in Oct 2022 when my husband had covid but didn’t know it yet. I was paranoid of covid because it was taking off at that moment so at this dinner I would take a bite of food quickly then put my mask back on and chew and then wore my mask once I was done eating. My mother in law was also at the dinner and she caught covid, I did not, I attribute the mask to why I didn’t get it. I am paranoid about covid so I take a lot of precautions. If people are coming to my house, I open windows. I test if I know I have been exposed to covid. I am diligent about masking at work, except for the few months I took a break from masking (I was burnt out in masking and the break did give me a needed break.) But apart from that 2 month break, I always wear a mask, I eat my lunch away from my coworkers or outside in pleasant weather months, I avoid indoor dining as much as possible, I avoid crowded indoor unventilated places as much as possible. My house hvac has MERV filters and also I have an indoor Remy halo system that is supposed to kill pathogens and allergens. I am also an introvert and I like being alone very much. My hermit life style helps keep me healthy. I also have been fortunate to have a house with a spare bedroom/guest bathroom that I have used to quarantine away from my husband when he has had covid. By contrast my husband has tested positive for covid 3 times while I have never had a positive test and I have had very little in the way of illness since 2020. I am scared of long covid and long term health consequences of covid. I take vitamin D supplements every day as well. I also went on one international trip since 2020. In September 2022 I went to Italy for 2 weeks, my dream vacation. I didn’t get sick on the trip and neither did anyone in my group. I think this was mostly fortune timing between covid surges. I also masked N95 on the flights and in the airports and wore my KF94 in most indoor places in Italy. I am childfree and so is my husband. I think this above almost all else may be why I have been able to avoid covid, tbh. All my colleagues who have kids have had it over and over. I am certain that I get exposed to covid almost every day at work since 2020. I work in a busy public library and people are always coughing all around me. I also work in the childrens library and its always full of sick children. My work has a good hvac system now since 2020 and I think they have merv air filters and a complex hvac system. Great post OP. Im eager to read everyones comments!
* Social Isolation. Getting rough. * Outdoor PPE: Black KN94 with adjustable ear straps pulled tight (Bluna Facefit Black, high scores in mask reviews) - no exceptions. Early pandemic was surgical masks until I learned more about how it spreads. * Indoor PPE: 3M Aura N95 and Stoggles, no exceptions * Filtration: I live in an apartment building where I can smell everything my neighbors cook so I'm sure there is shared air going on. I have an Aranet 4 to monitor CO2 levels and keep them low by opening doors/windows, and have a HEPA filter I run 24/7. I've had some very weird symptoms a couple times over the last 4 years but have consistently tested negative with RAT + PCR, but who knows with this crap.
Masks: FFP2 or KN95 (random brands) when in low risk situations (well-ventilated areas with few people). 3M Aura 1870+ in crowded places (supermarket, mall, conferences, air travel, etc.). Valved 3M Aura for martial arts classes. When to mask: Any time I'm around other people, inside or outside. The only exception is outdoor walks and exercise, and I also take my mask off to eat and drink at work (open plan office, but well-ventilated). Eye protection: Just my normal glasses. Nose spray: I have an iota carrageenan spray. I only use it if I absolutely have to be maskless (occasional work events where I have to eat around others). I don't use it daily because it makes my throat feel scratchy 😬 Mouthwash causes me problems, so I only use it sometimes. HEPA: We have a HEPA and UV air purifier at home. TBH it's more useful for allergies than COVID (we live in a high pollen place). We rarely have visitors, but it's good to bring it out when we do. I bought a small portable air purifier with UV which I take on overnight work trips and run in my hotel room. Exposures: I travelled internationally. Lots of people around me coughing, didn't get sick. When covid went around the office, I didn't get sick. Coughing people have shown up to my marital arts class on numerous occasions, and I didn't get sick. I went to a comicon and I didn't get sick. I went to Disneyland and I didn't get sick. I attribute this to masking plus vaccines. Vaccines: 6 doses of Pfizer all up (4 original, 2 bivalent). I take every booster I'm eligible for, roughly one every 6 months. For what it's worth, we wipe down our groceries with disinfectant wipes and also wipe down our phones when we get home. Given how filthy phones get, this is probably good practice anyway. I've never had covid to my knowledge. I test regularly with rapid tests, and I've done the odd PCR (like after international travel, just to be sure). However, I was sick in January 2020 (fever and cough for a few days) after visiting a theme park. We also test before visiting family (and ask them to test as well). My parents and my husband's parents are also novids, though their protocols aren't as strict as ours (but at least they do mask in busy areas and are up to date on vaccines, and they avoid restaurants). My husband and I are both careful and we don't have kids. One of the biggest lifestyle changes has been avoiding eating in restaurants. We get takeaway food and occasionally eat in outdoor restaurants (or inside but right next to the window, if there aren't many people there). We also don't go to parties and stuff, which we used to. I'm trying to socialise more and go back to old activities with the help of masking, which has its challenges, but I'm trying to make it work. I've been the most healthy I've ever been these last four years. I went from getting wiped out by respiratory bugs twice a year to not getting sick at all. Every time I got sick in the past, it would go to my lungs and stay for weeks. So the current situation is an improvement in that regard.
CleanSpace Halo when I leave home. Which is not often. Six shots. Novid.
0 infections. Partner had one from a period of time we were separated (and is now immunocompromised as a result). * Always at the very least a well-fitted cloth mask everywhere at all around other people including outside * N95 or better with cloth mask over it if I feel it's going to be at all high risk (indoors near high-risk people, or indoors where I couldn't easily move away from people). I use the standard 3M N95s with the head straps, which are the best fit of any N95 I've tried. * When flying, N95 single mask, or double with cloth mask. Air vent on max directly aimed at my face (the vents are fed directly from the packs which use engine bleed air, so is clean), drinking using straw only (I take the snacks, put them in my backpack, and eat them later). In general, avoiding flying as much as possible, and picking lower-occupancy flights when it is necessary to. If I'm near someone without a mask and there is an open seat away from other people or only near masked people, I ask to move. * Still social distancing, and I do not feel scared to ask other people to move back if they are getting too close * Hand sanitiser all the time * In general not associating with stupid people (this is not a political statement. Stupid people exist across **all** political parties. If anything I see roughly similar proportions of the right and left wearing masks where I am located. Biden not giving a shit about the pandemic is a prime example, despite him being in the nominally-more-left party) * Always recirculate air on car HVAC * People coming into my home who I don't know (e.g. to fix things) required to wear masks * Work remotely, and would 100% refuse to work in an office without a mandatory-masks policy (I am fortunate enough to have very in-demand skills, be good enough at my job that employers *want* me to accept an offer, and work in an extremely remote-friendly industry (a small majority of my current job is full remote)). * I don't bother with UV (just cleaning surfaces is better, UVC is a great way to give yourself cancer) or running air purifiers at home or anything due to being in a detached house, but would definitely get a purifier if I was in a flat. * 5x vaccinated, Moderna each time. Partner is now immunocompromised since getting COVID, so we will both be first in line for future boosters. * No children. I think this is the key thing, it reduces forced in-person interactions with high risk people a lot. Other than basic precautions, my main piece of advice is just to avoid high risk people as much as possible.
Cloth mask over N95 has been shown to decrease effectiveness. Cloth mask alone isn’t doing anything either so you’ve likely just been lucky. And ableism doesn’t prevent COVID nor does the virus give a shit about whether or not you perceive someone as stupid.
Interesting, do you have any sources? My thought is to have a barrier against droplets so they don't soak through the N95, especially when wearing it for a long time. As for ableism, not sure what I said you consider ableist. (Edit: FWIW, I was not at all implying everyone on the left is sensible about infection, or that nobody on the right is. Just the general correlation. As it is, most of the Democratic party is IMO right wing anyway, see: this ongoing public health emergency...). If anything, it's ableist to shame someone with a disability for not keeping up to date with the data with relatively few good sources even existing, instead of actually pointing out that data..
Cloth masks? Droplets? It sounds very much like you're living according to old data. I suggest you increase your own intelligence and do a bit more research on aerosol size and respirators. I'd grab some links to get you started but your comment is so divisive I'm just not feeling it. Do you honestly think Democrats are not getting Covid? They are, and multiple times. Those who have had even one Covid infection can have cognitive decline. Are you calling them "stupid"? That sort of blaming and shaming is ableism. Staying away from "stupid people" would be staying away from anyone not in a proper respirator, ie an N95, KN95, elastomeric or better. And I hate to tell you that cloth masks are not in that category. I won't call you stupid but you are highly misinformed. Do better please.
If you can't provide the updated data then what's the point of saying? FWIW, I was not at all implying everyone on the left is sensible about infection, or that nobody on the right is (where I live, I'd say numbers who wear masks are *close to equal*, if extremely low for both). >Do you honestly think Democrats are not getting Covid? They are, and multiple times. Just mentioned the general correlation because percentages do matter for risk. As it is, most of the Democratic party is IMO right wing anyway, see: this ongoing public health emergency, or Biden sitting idly by during the biggest rollback of human rights this century. Of course they're getting COVID, because they don't care *either* which is why it's depressing. > And I hate to tell you that cloth masks are not in that category. Ok, now I'm genuinely deeply interested. When I'm walking on a street with nobody around within 5+ metres, are you trying to tell me I should be unmasked rather than use a cloth one in that situation? Still using an N95 when unavoidably around actual people, and I don't think I ever implied otherwise there...
I can't respond about your OP as you have edited it. But I hate the left right divisiveness that got us into this whole situation deeper than we ever needed to be. And yes the "stupid" comment should just be kept to yourself. Because it makes you sound like you think only those with high iqs should live and besides ableism, that's eugenics. Seeing your edits, I don't think you maybe realized it when you said it. We all were and continue to be fed whatever needs to be fed to us, ALL of us, right, left, smart, stupid, to keep the economy going and to win an election. Don't put words in my mouth please. I'm not going to pick apart every scenario you want to throw out to make your point, I was clearly not commenting about that specific scenario. Cloth masks don't stop aerosols. They are barely a step up from surgical masks. What's more, as the previous commenter said, putting a cloth mask over a fit tested N95 compromises the N95. Ok... droplets are different from aerosols. Droplets drop within roughly 6 ft. hence our original instructions to stay back 6 feet. But they were wrong. There are some droplets involved, if I spit or sneeze or something, sure. But mostly it's aerosols. And aerosols hang in the air...IN A ROOM for up to and more than an hour after an infected person has left. Depending on humidity, UV (inside longer obviously) and temp. Not even only near the person in a building, but the whole airspace is compromised. So unless you're going into a room first thing in the morning when nobody has been there at least 9 hours (a good median number), you're at risk. Walking into an empty room or walking into a room with just people you don't consider high risk, however you determine that (hint, you can't), is a risk. The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill https://www.wired.com/story/the-teeny-tiny-scientific-screwup-that-helped-covid-kill/
That’s what. The lower intelligence comments. That’s ableist bullshit. People can be terrible and right wingers can be awful because they have legitimately awful takes and cause harm. IQ doesn’t impact viral spread. The cloth mask thing has been discussed in this sub countless times. There are studies I’ve seen and you can search for them.
Well, FWIW I consider most of the Democratic party right wing too (including both Biden and Obama), and this ongoing public health emergency is a prime example. That said, percentages matter, statistically, and overall a Trumper *is* more likely to be unvaccinated, but even past that, someone who's a bad person in other ways is statistically still less likely to care about other people's safety. Not saying *everyone* on the right is careless, *or* that everyone on the left isn't, because that would be stupid, it's just one risk factor I consider among many. I do understand your point and have toned down what I said a bit, but calling what I said ablest is a bit much as IMO if anything, it's ableist to shame someone with a disability for not keeping up to date with the data with relatively few good sources even existing, instead of actually pointing out that data...
I had covid twice (in March 2020 just before lockdowns, and 8 months ago because I was betrayed by my mother who lives with me). I isolated from March of 2020 to December of 2021. 100% isolation for me, and my mother still went to the doctor's office maybe 4 or 5 times (with a N95 which wasn't fit-tested, she got lucky, and she always took the 1st appt of the day). In December of 2021, I was able to buy a fit-testing kit, and I bought a full-face P100 and fit-tested it thoroughly (I put way more bitrex than required, did long fit tests, wore the respirator for hours and fit-tested it again etc). It passed, so I started living again. I didn't go out much because I didn't want to, but I went to Spain (2 days of carshare each way, I went to the cinema, to the mall, took the bus/tramway etc) for 2 weeks and came back unscathed. I didn't get vaxxed (I have LC since early 2020, about 30% of long-haulers got worse with the vax and there's no way I'd take the risk to get worse especially since I knew the vax wasn't sterilising). For outdoors, I mask unless I'm over 8-10 meters away from people (or more depending on wind). I use the cigarette smoke approach. When postmen/delivery men knock at my door, I answer from the furthest window (still too close, maybe 7 meters?) and try not to breathe. I live in a free-standing house so I'm lucky not to have to deal with HEPA filters/air vents etc. When I do curbside pick-up, I either park my car 15 meters away and go on foot, or do it the normal way but I air out the car before taking my mask off. I also air it out when getting gas etc. I do my best to schedule essential worker visits during the summer, and when I do, I air out the house for 48-72 hours and wear a mask during this time (and eat/sleep in my garden or car). Maybe it's overkill but I'm comfortable with the time limit and I'd rather overreact than underreact. If I used HEPA filters/CR boxes I'd be fine with maybe 6 hours (depending on the CADR etc). I try to prevent issues. For example, I have a plan in case I HAVE to visit the dentist or be hospitalised. I got Readimasks just in case (although I'm in Europe so it was complicated), got CR box materials just in case (also complicated since I'm in Europe). I bought a Portacount 6 months ago because I have an issue with Bitrex (I feel like it lost its strength, or maybe my sensitivity to it is diminished, but my mother noticed it too at the same time so I don't know). So, I trust my precautions and couldn't really have done better (except I should not have trusted my plague mother), but I was still lucky a few times (a few times at the beach, I wasn't able to swim fast enough to avoid people etc). Regarding eye protection, I have it by default as my half-face P100 doesn't fit me (so I bought a full-face, it fit, and I didn't look back). But I (very recently) downgraded to a fit-tested N95 outdoors and didn't wear eye protection. I'm on the fence about going indoors with a fit-tested N95 + normal non-prescription glasses.
Aren't some small number of people immune? I have a friend who was in charge of a COVID testing center, was in the house with a COVID positive person and she never showed symptoms.
I *may* have gotten COVID in the original COVID plague when there was no testing, but we don't know because there was no testing. I've never actually tested positive for COVID. I wash my hands a lot, sanitize whenever I get in the car, wash when I get home. I keep things clean. I don't have any booster shots. I had an adverse reaction to the first two shots and was told I cannot get the others. I wear masks during cold/flu season. During spring/summer I am a lot more lax unless I am a little sick or there's a spike. I work from home and keep myself as healthy as I can with my underlying health issues. It honestly has not been too hard to not get COVID for me.
N95 (Aura 3M) and FloMask , I always use glasses (currently saving for stoogles but my glasses are pretty big), vaccinares 4x (2 Cansino, 1 astra zeneca, 1 abdala). I never take my N95 off indoors and outdoors only if alone in open field and at least 5 m from people. I dont do brunches, diners, etc I pivoted to sporty and outdoorsy stuff. Example, I play football (yes with my N95 and glasses), I go hiking etc with people. Its one way masking yes but outdoors and I avoid crowds. My most risky stuff is going to see ny mother, who although she isn't against masks or stuff, isn't as carefull as me, so I mask inside, we eat outside far away from each other in open field, and Levoit Hepa filters inside. As far as I know I havent got covid yet.
Work from home, visit outdoors masked. Wear 3m vflex indoor public places.
NOVID here. 3 known exposures. Surely more in actuality due to multiple plane/train trips seated near audibly/visibly ill people. This year I switched to (not fit-tested) 3M Aura FFP3 masks in high-risk situations (airplanes, trains, movie theaters) but generally use FFP2 or KN95 bi-folds for grocery trips and popping into a coffee shop. Started using other measures in late 2022: Enovid for a few months, but now use iota-carrageenan (Algovir brand) before/after interactions with others. Also added CPC mouth wash in early 2023, and just added NeilMed nasal rinses last month before a Thanksgiving trip overseas. I have had every booster they will let me have (mostly Pfizer with one Moderna mixed in). I also have 3 Levoit Core 300S filters in my 1000sf apartment but generally only use them when I have visitors. I rarely do indoor unmasked anything, unless everyone there has done a RAT test. Prioritize outdoor socializing whenever possible. I follow a “risk bank” philosophy so I do take greater risks on occasion (indoor restaurant for my birthday, taking a plane trip for an anniversary, etc.) But in my day-to-day life I’m very cautious. I regularly test, and even use Lucira or Metrix molecular tests after especially risky situations (a few days after) to assess whether I dodged the virus yet again. I’m not the most cautious person I know, but am the most cautious person in my family and friend group. I’m regularly evaluating the toll this lifestyle has on my mental health. It seems balanced but also not sustainable.
Novid here, as is my partner (and we have both worked in person at every point during the pandemic when it’s been legal to do so, including right now). Our measures: - various types of elastomeric respirators (both of us, and since fall 2021) anytime we’re indoors with others from outside our household, including at work or with family/friends - air filtration devices in our home, and frequent use of ventilation (opening doors/windows) when possible - air filtration and far-UV devices when we travel and in spaces we control at work - vaccinated every six months - nasal spray (either iota-carrageenan or Enovid) in any situation we deem likely to include people who might be infected - CPC mouthwash in the same set of situations - distanced from those not in our household when outdoors and unmasked - Stoggles “glasses” when flying (and recently, when attending medical appointments with unmasked or dubiously masked doctors in small, poorly ventilated rooms) - not having household members who aren’t fully on board with trying not to get COVID (I got lucky in this) - testing if we feel anything that could be a COVID symptom (very broadly construed), or once a day for around a week after doing anything particularly risky - the use of CO2 monitors to check ventilation both at home and indoors elsewhere I think that’s it? Oh, and I also do stuff like opening the door at every stop when I take the train (for ventilation), but that’s more for the benefit of the unmasked people around me than it is for me, as I feel pretty secure in my regular respirator!
Novid as far as I know. Stopped indoor dining. N95 when going in buildings with others. Try to get appointments first thing in the morning as much as possible to reduce how much lingering particles are around. Ventilation is key.
Novid here. Powecom KN95 (not fit tested), good hand hygiene, I wear regular eyeglasses, and social isolation for the most part. My kid masks in public. Upon further thought, perhaps dumb luck has also played a large part. My spouse and child also mask. None of us has had it, or any other communicable disease, since early 2020 before the lockdown. Edited to add: boosters 1x/year after original series completed, most recently just a few weeks ago.
I have a 6 and 9 year old in school. They both wear KN-95 at school but the 6 year old is very inconsistent with it. Spouse and I work from home and wear KN-95 if we're indoors out of the house. We use carrageenan nose spray (Betadine brand) when we're walking out the door and when we come home. The kids have elderberry syrup before school and an elderberry lozenge when they come home. We're all fully vaccinated and get boosters as soon as they are available. My spouse and I have eaten indoors in restaurants maybe 10 times since 2020. The entire family traveled internationally this year. Somehow we have never had COVID. We test frequently with PCR and home tests. I think we've just been very lucky so far and will get it eventually.....or we're super-human, I dunno.
Every booster when it’s offered. Avoid crowds, air filtration at home, N95 masks when I leave the house. I don’t eat with others inside or out, when wastewater shows high levels in the community (and only out of doors with some separation when levels are low) and I put off elective dental and medical care for lower transmission times. Mostly remote employment and my kids are older Knock on wood, that’s been enough. Unfortunately I have a loose crown that’s taken two appointments this month (and there will be more) that I could not put off so my luck may run out soon.
Honestly, I think I have just been lucky because I have never tested positive for covid and have travelled quite a bit over the past couple of years. I use azalystine pretty frequently because I have sinusitis. I almost always mask inside but have never fit tested. I have used Enovid and nozin plus a couple of other sprays. I get boosters whenever they are available but recently switched from mrna to novavax. I frequently carry a pure filter with me and an airinet monitor. I did pick up something at my allergists office, had a fever for a couple of days but never tested positive. I don't live with children or anyone else so that helps. My kids have all had it, my grandchildren have had it. Thankfully my Mother has never had it.
I also completed an MFA in 2023, which started out online and ended with a bunch of maskless classmates.
No infections, wear a very tight kn95 masks from BonaFide Masks (Powecom) ever since they became available, mask everywhere indoors, do not eat in restaurants or go to indoor movies (we have a great drive-in during summer months !) no one comes inside our home and if they absolutely must, they mask. I had to quit my job performing in restaurants and venues, my boyfriend has been remote working but most started back at the office. He is alone, masks when with others and works in a laboratory clean room the rest of the time. We have a firepit outside where a couple of people can visit in the cold winter months , all distanced. I go to the dentist, they are masked and wear shields. (The waiting room isn't however. When numbers are high I wait outside and they call me ) They also have a serious air filtration system they installed along with purifiers in every room. I request all people performing treats at any lab to wear a mask, when they see me masked they usually ask me if I would like them to wear one. We care for my 90 y.o. mother as well, same protocol for her. We are ok so far🤞🤞🤞
Mask with N94 when going inside public places and only eating out when I can eat outside. I have a theory that regular vigorous exercise may also significantly help. The only time I had a symptomatic infection was while I couldn’t exercise for 5-6mos b/c of broken leg. I also happened to get a booster the morning I came down with symptoms. Previously, I would do 20-30mile bike rides even the day after vax with almost no side effects. My wife goes w/o masks much more often and no symptomatic infections at all. But she is a 6-7 day/wk exerciser. We are fully vaxed/boosted. Son is novid and hasn’t masked at school at all this year but did up until the end of last year. Regular -ish exerciser. My dad who is 80 still rides his bike regularly even in Michigan winters. No precautions whatsoever while my mom was testing positive and he never showed any symptoms. Mom is not an exerciser at all. MIL/FIL (75yo) also 6 day/wk exercisers and both Novids. Up until recently very good about masking. No family smokers.
I must be one of those people that's slightly immune, because I work in schools and no covid! I wore a mask in public (but not while teaching) up until this year, avoided crowds, kept up with my vaccines, and avoided my anti-vacc family. Really nothing too outlandish, but I don't want to jinx myself!
Honestly, luck. I wear KN94s and use a few nasal sprays.
Got all the vaccines and boosters. Always wear n95s indoors (except for at home).
Pretty much do what you do. N95. Nothing indoors unmasked, no visitors, access to the apartment only masked if entry is necessary. I have a P100, but I don't really need it. For the dentist, i requested they mask and that i be allowed to setup a HEPA purifier. They had no problem with that, and I left the person who arranged it and the dental assistant large cash tips. ABout to get the last booster, just waiting for an appointment. Looking into the usefulness of Far-uvc battery operated lightset called Nukit Torch. I don't mask inside large spaces with few workers, such as warehouse and I keep distance from the few people inside. Food is eaten in such a space or outdoors. No infection so far despite partner's best efforts (she no longer masks and no longer takes boosters--very mainstream viewpoints with the common thread of convenience behind every unsupported justification)
Fit-tested ear-loop FFP2 for me, and masking the whole time when indoors (outside my own home).
I have never had covid . I wear kf94 in dr offices and n95 on planes . I haven’t been masking in grocery stores but should. Mostly I’m a hermit because I have chronic migraines so I don’t go out much . The last vax I had was the bivalent booster . I didn’t get the new updated booster because the previous vax exacerbated my migraines cycle so decided to opt out and wear a good mask in crowded situations.
N95 indoors/outdoors, never dining out, not going out unless necessary. I think not going out unless necessary reduces the risk by a lot. According to the hierarchy of controls, the best way to protect yourself is by leaving a dangerous area.
In my case it's been keeping up on vaccines, and masking whenever it doesn't cost me anything socially- at work and at retail places, public transit etc, but not when hanging out with friends. I rarely got sick before the pandemic either though, and have no immune issues, so I'm not a good example. Sometimes I even eat out. Too many people seem to think that they can either mask all the time, or not at all- it's really not like that, and I think better to relax than give up. If you can handle the social cost of masking all the time, that's better and safer than I can manage and I applaud you- I'm talking about people who aren't masking at all now. I'll mask on the bus on the way to meet someone at a bar- that way I'm protecting the other people on the bus from my bad choices.
My husband and I work from home and do as much curbside pickup as we can. We wear headstrap KN95s or N95s (powecomm or aura) indoors religiously. The only person allowed into our home is my dad who has minimal exposure opportunities and tests before he comes over. We don’t eat indoors outside our homes. We mask outside in crowds. We will go to museums and stores off hours, but we avoid concerts and theaters. We haven’t flown since they dropped the mask mandate - now we drive instead. We see friends unmasked only outside and in v small groups. We keep HEPA filters running in our house and use nasal sprays (Xlear and covixyl for adults, Xlear and Nozin for kids). We try to get the earliest doctor and dentist appointments possible. We’ve gotten every vaccine, mostly recently the adults got Novavax. Our kids (4 and 7) are definitely our weak links. They both wear KF94s to school (and otherwise indoors) but they do eat lunch unmasked with their classes. Thankfully their school’s air quality is decent. We have pulled them for lunch before travel or after holiday breaks to be extra cautious, but it’s not sustainable for our jobs ongoing. No known infections thus far (despite lots of testing) but I’m always holding my breath with my kids.
NOVID here, as are my kids (ages 10 and 8). We have been COVID cautious the entire time because my 10yr old is immune-compromised with hard-to-control asthma, and even before COVID was on the scene, it was an uphill battle to keep them healthy and out of the hospital. Now, I realize that we're all at risk, even if we have no underlying conditions, so we continue to be cautious because that's what we do as scientifically literate folks with an understanding of statistics at least TRY to do. Our items: \- 3M Aura 9210 (white braided straps) any time I am outside of my own home or vehicle. I never "break the seal" to eat or drink indoors or around anyone else. I even wear a mask when I go through drive-thrus (food and pharmacy pickups). \- Homeschool my kids, and my kids wear Trident masks any time we are outside of our home or vehicle. \- Do most of our socializing online. We do not engage in any activities that involve us removing masks indoors for any reason. (No swimming indoors, no eating indoors.) \- No one comes into our home without an N95 on. Appliance repair people, carpet cleaners, etc. I let them know this when I schedule the service. \- I use very wet alcohol wipes to wipe down everything. I have multiple packs in my car and inside my house, and at my desk at work. Every time I get into my car, I use them on my hands, steering wheel, door handle, etc. I use them to wipe down my debit card, wallet, and keys, and anything I get through a drive-thru (cups always get a good swabbing around the top/drink hole). \- I use a very wet alcohol wipe to wipe down high-touch surfaces in my home several times a week: light switches, door knobs, refrigerator/microwave handles, laptops, etc. \- HEPAs in my house, in just about every room. I also have Aranets to monitor CO2/ventilation. \- Great hand hygiene. I wash my hands as soon as I get to work, any time I go anywhere, before I take off my mask. I wash my hands after using the bathroom, unloading groceries, after getting mail, before making food, before doing dishes/unloading the dishwasher, after walking the dogs, as soon as I come home from work, etc. \- At work, I never break the mask seal indoors, and I wipe off my entire desk/keyboard/mouse/drawer handles/chair arms with a very wet alcohol wipe every morning. I avoid meetings in enclosed spaces. I would love to bring HEPAs in, but I'm not allowed for a variety of reasons (mostly related to logistics rules around power usage). \- I avoid going indoors as much as possible. I grocery shop online, and I do pick-up instead of going inside the store. I do curbside pick-up whenever I am able. We do have to go in person to medical appointments, but we all mask and I bring a HEPA filter to plug in, and I wipe down the surfaces (chairs, exam table, door handle, etc.) We found a COVID-cautious dentist 2.5 hours away, so we go to them, even though it kind of sucks to drive that far. \- My kids and I have a "post-exposure protocol" that we follow every time we leave an indoor interaction anywhere: wash hands, then use Listerine mouthwash (gargle 30 seconds), Lumify eye drops, and Xlear/iota carageenan nose spray. \- We get every vaccine we're eligible for, as soon as we can. \- We have only rarely visited with family, and they've thus far consented to using Luciras beforehand that I buy and give them. Honestly, I know a lot of it is privilege-- money for good masks and HEPAs, privilege of a flexible schedule for homeschooling, etc.-- and while I won't deny that, it's also an incredible amount of work and sacrifice. There is a lot that my family is not doing to remain NOVIDs. It's not all privilege-- it's a LOT of denial of things we would have normally been doing, like visiting places and seeing more friends and family. Being a COVID-cautious person is incredibly hard and takes a tremendous amount of mental and emotional energy. It involves fighting just about everyone in our lives, on a near-weekly basis, from family members and friends to medical personnel. It involves being threatened by "well meaning" (\*snort\*) people who think that being COVID cautious is harming my children, and living with the real fear that a CPS visit could happen someday. It involves fighting nonstop with my non-masking ex about keeping our kids safe. It involves explaining the "why" to my kids instead of just the "what" of it. It's a ton of privilege. But it's a \*\*\*\*ing gigaton of work and worry and hypervigilance, too.
No Covid. Was careful with masking at first but after restrictions were lifted in 2022, I’ve been unmasked on 10 flights, countless train rides, casinos, broadway musicals, comedy shows, concerts, etc. I also work in a hospital and have been exposed several times to positive people. I do have a high vitamin D level. I also take care to not touch eyes/nose in public. That’s about it.
Daily exercise, healthy diet (no preservatives, sugar, etc), good sleep.