Chris Schaefer, a respirator specialist, recently sent an open letter to Alberta's chief medical officer stating why he thinks the broad usage and mandate of masks is not an effective COVID mitigation strategy.
Meet Chris Schaefer of SafeCom Training Services Inc., based in Edmonton.
Chris has been teaching and conducting respirator fit testing for more than 20 years; his clients include many government departments, the military, health-care providers with Alberta Health Services, educational institutions, and private industry.
Needless to say, Chris is a recognized authority on this subject.
Chris recently sent an open letter to Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer, informing her that filter respirator masks, especially N95, surgical and non-medical masks, provide negligible COVID-19 protection for the following reasons:
Viruses in the fluid envelopes that surround them can be very small, so small in fact that you would need an electron microscope to see them. N95 masks filter 95 per cent of particles with a diameter of 0.3 microns or larger. COVID-19 particles are .08–.12 microns.
Viruses don’t just enter us through our mouth and nose, but can also enter through our eyes and even the pores of our skin. The only effective barrier one can wear to protect against virus exposure would be a fully encapsulated hazmat suit with cuffs by ankles taped to boots and cuffs by wrists taped to gloves, while receiving breathing air from a self-c ontained breathing apparatus (SCBA). This barrier is standard gear to protect against a biohazard (viruses) and would have to be worn in a possible virus hazard environment 24/7 and you wouldn’t be able to remove any part of it even to have a sip of water, eat or use the washroom while in the virus environment. If you did, you would become exposed and would negate all the prior precautions you had taken.
Not only are N95, surgical and non-medical masks useless as protection from COVID-19, but in addition, they also create very real risks and possible serious threats to a wearer’s health.
Indeed, Chris further notes that any covering of the mouth and nose increases breathing resistance, whether the mask is certified or not.
Those individuals with pre-existing medical conditions of shortness of breath, lung disease, panic attacks, breathing difficulties, chest pain in exertion, cardiovascular disease, fainting spells, claustrophobia, chronic bronchitis, heart problems, asthma, allergies, diabetes, seizures, high blood pressure and pacemakers need to be pre-screened by a medical professional to be approved to be able to safely wear one.
Wearing these masks could cause a medical emergency for anyone with any of these conditions. And pregnancy-related high blood pressure is possible.
As for Ms. Hinshaw’s response? Radio silence.
Check out my interview with Chris Shaefer who makes a solid case that those officials in charge of COVID-19 regulations need to drop the mandate for mandatory face
