Where to buy N95 masks in Australia to protect against Omicron

The United States’ top health agency has issued advice that cloth masks are ineffective against the Omicron variant, saying better masks are needed to keep people safe.

The United States’ top health agency says cloth masks will not be enough to prevent people from being infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Yesterday, we detailed how experts had instead recommended N95 or KN95 masks be worn by members of the public in places where the highly-transmissable variant is widespread.

The experts said the common blue masks worn by millions of Australians don’t do enough to keep respiratory droplets from entering the airways.

Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is considering updating its mask guidance along similar lines.

The Washington Post reports that experts have been urging US President Joe Biden’s administration to recommed better masks.

An official from the CDC told the Post: “The agency is currently actively looking to update its recommendations for KN95 and N95 in light of Omicron. We know these masks provide better filtration.”

In Victoria, NSW and Queensland, tens of thousands of new infections are being recorded every day. And while Omicron thankfully appears milder than its predecessor in the majority of cases, NSW recorded a daily death toll record of 21 on Wednesday. Victoria also recorded 21 more deaths.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who returned from leave on Tuesday, addressed Omicron’s unprecedented spread when talking to reporters.

“We’ve now got this variant. From a transmission point of view, the vaccines don’t work anywhere near as well against this new variant,” he said.

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A well-fitted mask is a good start but cloth masks are not enough to prevent the spread of Omicron, experts say.

What mask should I be wearing and where do I get it?

Experts say the best mask to protect against airborne particles is an N95 or KN95 mask. Australia also sells the P2 mask, which is the N95 equivalent.

Both masks are available from hardware stores, Officeworks and some chemists.

NSW Health has information about the PS mask on its website. It reads: “Disposable P2/N95 face masks (also known as P2/N95 respirators) are able to filter out very fine particles from the air when worn correctly.

“They help reduce exposure to bushfire smoke / poor air quality and associated health effects. P2/N95 face masks are widely available from hardware stores and other safety equipment suppliers.”

The message is that people should have three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine but also wear a well-fitted mask when around others.

Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech University, says “cloth masks are not going to cut it with Omicron.

Speaking with National Public Radio in the US, she said KN95 masks or N95 masks are the only masks which offer enough protection against Omicron when it is airborne.

“[People] should feel pretty safe because the booster provides strong protection against severe outcomes, and even if infected people are present and releasing viruses into the air, a properly fitting N95 will reduce the amount you breathe in by 95 per cent or more,” she said.

It is a message being shared by other experts.

The P2/N95 masks are sold at a number of retailers, including hardware stores, Officeworks and some chemists.

How effective are N95 masks?

Researchers at Duke University found that N95 masks were the most effective in keeping droplets away. According to USA Today, the research conducted last year found N95 masks were 99 per cent effective in blocking respiratory droplets.

Leana Wen from George Washington University’s Milken Institute of Public Health told CNN that cloth masks will not do the job with so many cases of Omicron around.

“We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask,” she said.

“You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone.

“Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There’s no place for them in light of Omicron.

“This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months, in fact.

“If we’re going to go as far as to say that masks are required, when we don’t come from a mask-wearing culture and people don’t like wearing masks, at least recommend that they wear the most effective mask.”

Writing in The Atlantic, Olga Khazan noted that N95 masks “were what ER doctors wore to treat Covid patients at the very beginning of the pandemic – before vaccines or boosters were available, and before most people began wearing masks indoors at all”.

She wrote: “Some experts even think people who are triple-vaccinated and wearing N95s can go about their normal activities.”

Speaking to National Public Radio, Dr Marr said a study from Hong Kong showed Omicron multiplies 70 times faster inside the respiratory tract than Delta did.

N95 masks have been recommended to keep respiratory droplets at bay. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

Originally published as Where to buy N95 masks in Australia to protect against Omicron