Friday, Sep. 24, 2021
Does a video demonstration of an air quality monitor prove wearing a mask is unhealthy?
In an online video, a man uses a hand-held air quality monitor and, wearing a mask, inserts the monitor's tube between his mask and his mouth. He breathes, the monitor's alarm sounds.
The manufacturer of the device, Honeywell, said it is not properly used in the video and the result cannot be interpreted as it is in the video, which aims to prove masks are unhealthy.
The screen on the gadget in the video indicates either a fault with the device or that the man in the video was breathing directly into the air monitor intake tube when the alarm sounded.
The CDC has published multiple scientific studies indicating surgical masks are safe. The consensus of public health research is that mask-wearing protects the mask-wearer and reduces the spread of disease by curtailing droplets breathed out.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- PK Safety Honeywell GasAlert Confined Space Multi-Gas Monitor
- Centers for Disease Control Your Guide to Masks
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