A well fitting N95 or higher protects the wearer too, so if you are infected either from the exposure while wearing it (mask slipped momentarily) or in the lower risk moments you took it off, it's likely the viral load will be smaller and lead to a milder infection. I don't know what it means for LC risk if you do catch it.
I'm not sure anyone does. The studies I've seen are puzzling at how they can't judge, because people with even seemingly mild cases can, down the line, end up with nasty long covid symptoms. There's some studies seeming to show that the newest version is turning out to be targeting lungs again, where the most recent Omicrons were just doing a general hit.
One thing people do seem to forget - if it's in the air, it's in the air. There are reports of people in hotel rooms across the hall from each other, one positive one not, and the not ended up positive when neither had opened their doors. So airflow matters, apparently. What to do? Duct tape a hotel room door closed once you're inside, so you can take off your mask?
We travel, and we rarely do now although we have made a few over-nighters, with a portable hepa grade air filter that gets turned on as soon as we're in our room, and we do not de-mask for at least a half-hour (based on the rate of airflow it's rated to clean). So far, so good.
On the masks. Anything other than an N-95 or better will slow larger droplets down, which can help lessen the crud you're shooting out into the air with every exhalation - the larger, gooey droplets stick to the mask and some of those that get through get slowed down. But the smaller particles keep right on going - and if the mask is ill-fitting, everything goes wherever there's an air leak, in both directions. But they don't stop a lot of it, so you want N-95 or better.
Something that may be of use to the neighbor, Durhamlad. Ancedotal info trading among the researchers where there's been Covid in the household. By keeping air purifiers (Hepa Merv 13 or higher filters) going, plus wearing well-fitting N-95s, kept the rest of the families from catching it. (With relative isolation of the ill person, of course.) Don't know if there's been studies - I haven't been looking at that aspect of things.
Also may or may not be of interest, but this twitter feed has (along with a lot of lamenting as to why people are acting like people) some cutting edge stuff come across it, from time to time.
https://nitter.it/kprather88 So, the latest here - Daughter was volunteering on the board of a local nonprofit organization. She stopped going to the meetings because they were in small rooms with poor airflow and the other members were not masked up. She asked, politely, in writing if they would please do so, because they were putting her in a dangerous situation due to her health issues. She said she hoped they would so that she could once again attend and carry out her duties. No word. No word. No word. Then a letter from the organization's lawyer suggesting she not darken their doorstep until the epidemic was over or she was "no longer immunocompromised". They had "tried repeatedly" (one phone message, which she responded to by email) to reach her to discuss "her concerns" and were left with no other option. She is to do nothing relating to the organization, and that includes going on-site for any reason. Right. I saw her message to them that prompted this - very professional, nothing in it that should have resulted in this.
I try to lighten the mood by thinking at least there's not Polio in our wastewater, as there is in London. Apparently some local spread there. I'd be watching that carefully, even though I've been vaccinated, if I was there. Let us hope THAT one is not making a comeback. I remember the polio summers. Not, not good. Will make Covid look like a hayride.
(If you're not familiar, look up the term "Iron Lung".)
Hey, yeah, I know. But it's kind of an "at least it's not as bad as those other guys have it right now" kinda thing. But then I turn on the TV and there's the Supreme Court....
As I said, I think I understand Medieval hermits a bit more, lately.
