Masking Affirmations

Number 2 in a series by Kathleen Gadd

Jun 30, 2023

Well, I did promise last month I would be briefer next time. And then I let more than a month slip by! Let's see if I manage better in the summer! I'm going to break my promise to be brief, so please grab a cup of tea or a fizzy water and settle in for a really positive and action-oriented round up of all kinds of COVID-safety related efforts.

This newsletter is part of a regular series called Masking Affirmations. Thank you for the helpful feedback we received on our first one.

Thanks as well for being here. It's so important that we foster a community of caring - caring about each other, as well as caring about what studies and evidence are saying about reality and the facts of contagious diseases.

Here are this week's affirmations:

Though I may feel alone, I am part of a global community of people who care.

I am building skills in critical thinking and psychology that will help me for the rest of my life.

It is still worth avoiding infection and re-infection. By wearing the best mask that I can, I preserve my health and protect people around me.

COVID is not a seasonal virus. While many let their guard down in the summer, the invisible hazards around me are still here. I want to enjoy my summer and I need to feel as well as possible to make the most of summer.

In this week's letter, I also want to fill you in on some of the various groups that I'm part of and some of the conversations we're having, so you can see what work is going on in the background. At the end of the letter I'll introduce a couple of great mask options for hot, sunny, humid environments. I also want to acknowledge that I have heard from various people around the world in the chats we have that some folks are feeling more hostility regarding mask wearing, and I think it's important that we're able to acknowledge that and chat with each other about the hard stuff, and ways we can approach prioritizing our safety and health even as some aspects of our lives continue to make this more difficult. There is always something we can do. I value being able to acknowledge the hard stuff, and then brainstorm solutions.

If you're alone out there - you don't have an in person or virtual community with which you feel free to candidly discuss COVID and any concerns or questions you have - I highly encourage you to join the World Health Network.

If you're in NB, come and find PoPNB on social media. We can also help direct you to other welcoming Canadian groups.

I want to let you all know about various grassroots efforts that are ongoing in Canada to try to reduce the burden of COVID. At the local level, in PoPNB we have an ongoing stream of chatter that most of us dip in and out of, sharing what we have learned from various resources and checking with each other about knowledge and ideas. Now that the school year is over, much of our practical chatter is about a few things: what we can do to make school less dangerous for kids, workers, and communities for next year, and how we can safely navigate summer travel, shared custody, and visits. (Also, moments of increased hostility towards us as we simply dare to be masked in public. But we all have each other's backs.)

Lots of folks have upcoming visits from family from other provinces, and in some cases the visitors will have taken no precautions in their journeys across the country. Remember, if you're flying: Forbes reported in January 2023 that 28 out of 29 flights sampled in Kuala Lumpur from June to December 2022 had SARS-CoV-2 in their wastewater. I doubt this fact is unique to Malaysia, where I happen to have family. Wearing the best mask you can while using transit including flying is a wise investment in your health.

Once visitors arrive in your town, having been exposed at every point along the way, how can you see them safely? We're talking a lot about testing, masks and how to offer them and navigate their use with relatives who haven't masked in a while, best outdoor gathering places in New Brunswick (picnic tables, covered picnic tables in parks, restaurants with patios, ordering take out and then taking it to a patio to eat even if they aren't offering service on the patio, etc.), and ventilation and filtration to improve indoor air quality and reduce the chances of transmission indoors. What many people are realizing is that the swiss cheese model is still the way to go - just like a "vaccines only" approach was insufficient, a filtration-only approach is not enough at this time. It's a great idea to use as many layers as possible to prevent infection and transmission. Another helpful resource is the People's CDC’s seeyousafer.org.

Speaking of vaccination - in the spring I was really lucky to get Novavax at the UNB Campus Pharmacy in Fredericton. It's the only location in the province offering Novavax. They do COVID vaccines on a walk-in basis from Monday to Friday during their hours of operation. You do not have to be 65+ to get a dose. If you're in New Brunswick and due for a booster, I highly recommend a day trip to Fredericton. Thank goodness for the wonderful pharmacist there, who has done so much to keep New Brunswickers safe.

In the US, the group that makes vaccine decisions met recently and decided what COVID variant to focus on for fall vaccinations. It looks like our next vaccine update will likely be a monovalent vaccine targeting one of the XBB lineages. As far as I know, it's unclear what will be happening with children's vaccinations. In Canada, there is still no booster available for kids under 5. Kids 5-11 can get a bivalent booster, even now. If you're due for a booster, I would get one ASAP so you'll be able to receive an updated vaccine when it's available in the fall. Getting a dose later this summer could affect your ability to get the updated formulation in a timely way when it's available in the fall. Vaccine doses can be hard to obtain now - the UNB campus pharmacy is the best way to access a vaccine dose that I am aware of.

In PoPNB we're also spending a lot of time talking about politics in New Brunswick - an activity that is popular outside of New Brunswick right now too. If you are in New Brunswick, please do take a moment to contact your MLA and express your thanks and support for voting in favour of modernizing the Clean Air Act, which passed unanimously - you may wish to express your desire to see some steps taken urgently.

If we don't make any changes, we will all be facing another autumn of the "tripledemic" of COVID, influenza, and RSV that created a horrific crisis in pediatric healthcare last fall. Influenza came early and in New Brunswick we had a record year overall for influenza hospitalizations and deaths. Wait times to be seen in emergency departments were incredibly long. Some areas of New Brunswick do not have enough pediatricians, or pediatric nurses. Miramichi recently went close to an entire year without a full-time pediatrician, something that went unreported by the media. For the fourth largest city in New Brunswick during an ongoing pandemic and a pediatric health crisis, this was very stressful for healthcare workers as well as families.

If we don't improve school, bus, and daycare safety regarding transmission of disease, we will face these horrific circumstances and avoidable hospitalizations and deaths all over again this fall. As badly as we all need a break and some rest - and we do - we realized last year that August is too late to advocate for safe schools. The work has to be ongoing. There certainly seems to be a possibility that we will be facing a provincial election in New Brunswick in the fall.

We need to rest and take care of ourselves, but we also need to keep working to raise awareness of the various ways the provincial government has failed the health and safety of all people in this place, and we need to rouse others to action. The fall is likely to be intense, politically and otherwise. Here's a CBC article from last December talking about the record setting cases of influenza, as well as RSV and COVID harming so many New Brunswickers and overwhelming the healthcare system. We are purposefully walking into this all over again this fall if we don't demand evidence-based changes - the fact that respirators work and are the appropriate PPE for an airborne hazard; the fact that improved IAQ reduces transmission of RSV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2.

Yesterday, PoPBC had a live briefing all about school safety for the upcoming academic year which can be watched here.

While you're thinking about New Brunswick politics, you've likely heard about the Education Department and policy 713, which supports the inclusion and safety of 2SLGBTQIA+ students. Tragically, copying moves from other right-wing politicians elsewhere, our premier has decided to focus a lot of time and energy on transgender youth and stirring up fear, anger, and suspicion about vulnerable people. He is willing to destroy his legacy and his majority government ostensibly about removing protections for 2SLGBTQIA+ kids in New Brunswick schools. Several PC MLAs have resigned their cabinet positions. The party itself has secured enough letters from riding presidents and members to start the leadership review process since many feel premier Higgs is not fit for leadership.

2SLGBTQIA+ people, including youth, in New Brunswick could really use support and solidarity. As many know, politicians openly spreading lies and debunked conspiracy theories (e.g. kitty litter in schools) about an already vulnerable minority emboldens others to direct rage and hate towards them too. Our voices against harm and hatred are really needed. If you're in New Brunswick you can do a lot - contact your MLA, contact your District Education Council (many have passed their own policies strengthening policy 713 in the wake of this), contact your local PC riding association, help others around you to understand that nothing about weakening policy 713 is actually about protecting children. Call out transphobia and homophobia. Our part of the world really needs allies who can explain this stuff well, because otherwise people are prey for misinformation. Sadly there is a lot of rage being stoked and folks are trying to direct that rage against vulnerable people. Our anger should be directed at the architects of our current and ongoing suffering.

If you're outside of New Brunswick, many media outlets nationally and internationally are paying attention to policy 713 in New Brunswick - you can bring this story to your own government as a cautionary tale. And you can always support queer kids in New Brunswick from afar. Here are some helpful resources about policy 713 and New Brunswick:

In New Brunswick we've also formed a group to focus exclusively on school safety regarding indoor air quality. We're still getting organized but please feel welcome to reach out if you'd like to join. As with the wonderful school safety groups in other provinces (BC, AB, ON), our work will be including the health hazard of SARS-CoV-2, but not limited to just COVID since there are so many valid reasons to improve the air quality in schools, daycares, and on school buses. The return on investment is very much worth it.

Beyond New Brunswick, folks across Canada who are interested in improving the air quality in schools have started meeting virtually as well. We had a first meeting to catch everyone up on the progress being made in each province, and are meeting again in July to talk about next steps. Have a look at what Ontario School Safety is doing.

Everyone is really excited about the Clean Air Act motion in New Brunswick, and encouraged by the efforts of some teachers to engage NBTA on matters of safety and indoor air quality as well. We are making progress. But in the meantime we all remain at risk.

Last summer I was honoured to be asked to join the Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition, as they reached out to all the POP and other COVID safety grassroots groups in Canada. They're in the midst of a multi-year project to improve pandemic response in Canada. They're a really tremendous group. Through the fall, we are contacting civil society organizations, unions, and patient advocacy groups to engage on policy proposals that would improve our pandemic response. If you haven't heard of them or haven't checked them out lately, please do have a look.

At the bottom of their website, you can see some of the letters they've submitted to publications regarding the bogus mask studies that have been published lately such as the Loeb mask "RCT" and the Cochrane review that includes that RCT. If you're part of an organization that is involved with worker safety, child safety, patient safety, or patient advocacy anywhere in Canada - please reach out to me as I'd love to book a virtual meeting with you as part of this ongoing public engagement.

I tell you this to make sure you know that excellent work is being done by incredible people to reduce the burden of COVID. It is not hopeless.

But. Almost everyone is a volunteer. And the work takes time. Despite the evidence showing that COVID is airborne and that N95s and improving indoor air quality work, we are sadly not seeing an urgent shift to deploy this knowledge to save lives. For a long time, every day I would wake up thinking today would be the day that provincial public health - in ANY province - would acknowledge airborne transmission and things would quickly change for the better. I am forever an optimistic person. I tell you about these various initiatives so that you know work is being done. Things will get better. But it won't be right away.

I hope this helps you to stay engaged with what's happening - knowing that many people are working on solutions, and that it won't be like this forever - but it's going to be like this for some time to come barring drastic change. That's why I feel picking sustainable approaches is really important. I've stopped signing up for group indoor activities for my kids, because I've stopped believing that our government is going to act quickly enough to render certain indoor activities safe enough for the year ahead. Luckily for us, I'm a certified coach in an outdoor winter sport, so we can keep on being active and having fun with other families through the winter - outdoors.

Is trying to avoid infection still important enough that it's worth swimming upstream? I fully think so. We're fortunate in the Maritimes to have a lot of wilderness and green spaces. Spending time outdoors doesn't tend to be too difficult for most people. We really love our outdoor recreation and leisure. Outdoor dining can be trickier but thankfully in the summer, BBQing with friends is such a common pastime that it's likely no one will notice you're still not dining indoors. You don't need to go to a chain restaurant indoors when you can enjoy a patio or a friend's backyard.

What exactly am I trying to avoid? An infection that can be persistent. An infection that damages the heart and many other organs. An infection that has about a 10% chance of resulting in long COVID, despite me having 6 vaccine doses. An infection that may shorten my life expectancy. An infection I could easily pass along to my loved ones, harming them too. COVID itself is still a worthy foe and I'm willing to take many evidence-based precautions to avoid a re-infection. It's not the acute phase of the illness that worries me personally. It's the damage done to my organs, damage I likely wouldn't perceive at the time. Here's the Chief Science Advisor's public report on Long COVID, released March 9, which received very little media attention.

I know that when we're constantly faced with what feels like 95% of our friends and loved ones taking no precautions, keeping up our own precautions is more challenging. Everyone wise and perceptive that I've been listening to and following since 2020 is still taking precautions and encouraging those of us still paying attention to keep it up. I don't think we'll regret trying to deal with reality - that hazards and risks have risen compared with the world in 2018, and they have not yet dropped. Nor are they known fully. What we keep learning about the damage caused by a COVID infection continues to be bad news. It is not easy for folks to stay engaged with this, especially if they knowingly took risks; especially if loved ones became infected repeatedly.

In addition to the fact that fewer people are masking, there are practical challenges to summertime masking - heat, humidity, sweat, etc.! I promised to leave off with some great mask options for the summer so here we go:

This is a new product from CanadMasq, which you can get from CanadaMasq or from the Canada Strong website. It's an earloop respirator for kids to adults and it is CSA certified. It's white so it won't heat up in the sun like a darker coloured mask, AND it was made to be extremely breathable. I ordered a couple of packs to try them out but I have not tried them yet.

Earloop respirators are not as protective as headstrap respirators. Some folks who are very knowledgeable are very much against recommending earloop respirators because the seal and the protection offered is significantly different to a headstrap N95. However, the earloop CanadaMasq respirator is the best mask my 5-year-old will wear. She doesn't feel she can don and doff the FloMask alone. It's also the only respirator one of my family members will wear. I wish we could all be wearing fit tested N95s, but that's not the world we have right now. If you're looking for a breathable mask that is light in colour, this new one could be worth trying. I wouldn't wear this to an especially risky environment, but it's always nice to have options, especially in the summer. Here's a link to it in medium, and you can access the other sizes from the description.

I should note that a headstrap version with a nose foam is coming soon, which will be absolutely fantastic and address my safety concerns for adults. I don't think the headstrap version comes in the kids size - one reason it's hard to find kids headstrap masks is due to strangulation concerns.

Finally, another great summertime option that feels cool on the face and is very breathable is the SaveWo mask. ProMask is the authorized distributor in Canada. The fit can vary by mask colour so once again please do not use these in risky environments. I used one of these masks recently at a pool where I was helping supervise kids - it was nice to have a cool-feeling mask in that hot and humid environment. ProMask Canada sells a few different things on their site and I find it hard to find the masks - when I click on shop I just click on "sort - price - highest to lowest" and the masks come up near the top of the results. Here's the link.

Thank you for your time and interest - next week we'll talk about wildfire smoke in our next edition of Masking Affirmations!

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