#Project N95

[feminist-space]

ProjectN95 is shutting down

Tumblr Friends! ProjectN95 is unfortunately closing its doors on December 15th. They've done SO much to provide masks, respirators, PPE to healthcare workers and the public since 2020, and this is honestly such a loss of a non-profit organization. They've helped a lot of people over these years.

If you need quality masks/respirators, they're having a sale right now on ProjectN95.org. I definitely recommend checking them out sooner than later.

[cloama]

If you cannot afford quality masks, visit Project n95 and fill out the quick form to receive free n95 masks by mail.

[rikaklassen]

Cakelin Fable over at TikTok scraped the information from Project N95 a few months ago after Project N95 announcing shutting down December 18, 2023 (archived copy of New York Times article) then compiled the data into an Excel spreadsheet [.XLSX, 18.2 MB] with Patrick from PatricktheBioSTEAMist. 

You can access the back up files above.

The webpage is archived to Wayback Machine.

The code for the web-scraping project can be found over at GitHub.

Cakelin's social media details:

Website

Beacons

TikTok

Notion

Medium

Substack

X/Twitter

Bluesky

Instagram

Pinterest

GitHub

Redbubble

Cash App

Patrick's social media details:

Linktree

YouTube

TikTok

Notion

Venmo

[pandemichub]

The Project N95 shop will remain OPEN until December 15th, 2023.

Reblog to circulate post on Tumblr

I'm uncertain if there's a way to save this non profit but I'd like to encourage us all to try. We already lost another this past year 'Body Politic' because they did not get the financial supported needed to continue, which included expansion to be able to operate well.

Part of building community and a better future involves investing. And we cannot hope to have resources, infrastructure and responses to meet the progressive derailing and degrading conditions and societies around us without doing so.

It requires time, energy, heart and sometimes yes, money. The more we put into projects like this, local and small companies, sustainability, kindness, deconstructing & decolonization and less of ourselves and resources into people, organizations and projects that do not care about us or are harming us, we actually have a road to the bright possibilities we hope and speak of so beautifully.

[liminalweirdo]

@shiningroyalty a shirt probably won't do much to protect you or others, but if you're in the US there are lots of places that donate N95 or similar masks to people who cannot access or afford them. Check out Project N95's program where they can donate masks to those in need. Masks4All on reddit is (or was? I'm not sure what's going on with them while reddit's a shitshow) is a pretty great resource as well.

[thelooniemoonie]

Oh man, I am....not feeling so good.

Something definitely feels WrongTM for the past week. Most likely due to the long exposure in wildfire smoke. I legitimately feel depressed.

I think..I should take a break from doing art until I feel better (which knowing me, probably won't take long until I get impatient).

[spidergvven]

hey i know that i dont talk about it a lot on here but this blog is pro masking. official govt and world organizations ending the health emergency doesn't mean covid is over. long term organ damage happens w every infection. the chances of long covid increase w each infection. we are facing an ever evolving infectious disease with no institutional protection. respirators protect you and others, please mask up!

you can request free n95 masks from project n95 here:

all we have is each other, mask up and take care of your community

[lotus-tower]

The Swiss Cheese Model of Covid Prevention

An edited version of the swiss cheese model tailored towards the measures that you as an individual can take to minimize your risk of infection. Public health is ultimately what its name implies, public, but that doesn't mean you're powerless.

Covid prevention is not all-or-nothing. Think of it as risk reduction, rather than a binary.

Let's go through these step by step.

VACCINES

The current vaccines are meant primarily to reduce chances of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. They will reduce your chance of infection a bit--but not nearly as much as you might think. You should still get your boosters regularly, because avoiding severe illness is of course worth doing.

If you haven't gotten the updated monovalent vaccine yet, go get it. It is not a booster. Think of it as a new vaccine. It's targeted towards the XBB lineages, which are now the most common variants. Your last boosters were likely of the bivalent type, aimed at both the original Covid strain from 2020 and Omicron. The new vaccine is monovalent, meaning it targets one family in particular.

Some studies suggest that the Novavax vaccine, which is a more traditional protein-based vaccine, is more effective and safer than mRNA vaccines, and offers better protection against future variants. Of course, the data we have so far isn't 100% conclusive (the last paper I linked is a preprint). Make of these findings what you will, just something to keep in mind. The new Novavax vaccine's availability is still limited, especially outside of the US.

MASKS

Masking is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself. While it is true that masking and reducing Covid transmission protects those around you, the idea that masks can't protect the wearer is outdated information from the early days of the pandemic when medical authorities refused to acknowledge that Covid is airborne.

The key to protecting yourself is to wear a well-fitting respirator. You want to minimize any gaps where air might leak out. If your glasses get fogged up, that's a sign that air is leaking.

Headbands will always have a tighter fit than earloop masks (and therefore provide better protection). However, you can use earloop extenders to improve the fit of earloop masks. You can find these online. Your comfort in wearing a mask is important, but there are options for compromise.

The above graphic doesn't include elastomeric respirators. While some (like the Flo Mask) are expensive, they can be much more affordable than buying disposables--look for P100 respirators at your local hardware store, but make sure it fits your face well.

For more general information, see this FAQ. For mask recommendations (NA-centric, sorry!), see my list here or Mask Nerd's YouTube channel.

For situations where you need to hydrate but don't want to take your mask off, consider the SIP valve.

Not even N95s are foolproof (N95 means it filters at least 95% of particles--with the other 5% potentially reaching you). Most people will likely not have a perfect fit. There will be situations where you'll have to take your mask off. The key is risk reduction, and that's why the Swiss cheese model is crucial.

If you can't afford high-quality masks, look for a local mask bloc or other organization that gives out free masks. Project N95 has unfortunately shut down. In Canada, there's donatemask.ca.

AVOID CROWDED INDOOR SPACES

This is rather self-explanatory. Indoor transmission is much, much, much more likely than outdoor transmission. If it's possible to move an activity outdoors instead, consider doing so.

If possible, try going to places like stores or the post office during less busy hours.

Viral particles can stay in the air for a considerable amount of time even after the person who expelled them has left. Do not take off your mask just because no one is currently present, if you know that it was previously crowded.

A CO2 monitor is a decent proxy for how many viral particles may have accumulated in the air around you. The gold standard is the Aranet4, but it's expensive, so here are some more affordable alternatives.

VENTILATION AND AIR FILTERS

Ventilation is effective for the same reason that outdoors is safer than indoors. If it's warm enough, keep windows open whenever possible. If it's cold, even cracking them open occasionally is better than nothing. Try to open windows or doors on different sides of a room to maximize airflow.

HEPA air filters can significantly reduce viral transmission indoors. Make sure to find one suitable for the room size, and replace the filters regularly. You want to look for devices with HEPA-13 filters.

You can use websites like these to calculate how long it takes for a device to change all the air in a room. Remember what I said about viral particles being able to hang around even after people have left? If an air purifier provides 2 air changes per hour, that means that after 30 minutes, any potential viral particles should be gone.

If you can't afford a commercial air filter, here's a useful DIY filter you can make with relatively simple materials. The filtration capacity is great--but due to being built with duct tape, replacing filters will be a challenge.

If you have to hold meetings or meet with people at work, having a smaller filter on the desk between you will also reduce chances of infection.

As a bonus, HEPA filters will also filter out other things like dust and allergens!

REDUCE LENGTH OF EXPOSURE IF EXPOSURE IS UNAVOIDABLE

Viral load refers to the amount of virus in a person's blood. If you've been exposed to someone with Covid, how much you've been exposed matters.

You might escape infection if the viral load you've been exposed to is very small. Or, even if you get infected, there will be less virus in you overall, leading to milder illness--and crucially, a lower chance of the virus penetrating deep into your body, creating reservoirs in your organs and wreaking long-term havoc.

A low viral load is also less contagious.

This is the same reason that wearing your mask most of the time, but having to take it off for eating, is still much better than not wearing your mask at all.

RECHARGEABLE PORTABLE AIR FILTERS

You might attract some odd looks. But if you're at high risk or just want to be as protected as possible, small portable air filters can help. Try to find models small enough to take with you on public transportation, to school, or while traveling.

These devices will be far too small to clean the air in the whole room. The goal is to have it filter air in your immediate vicinity. Be sure to angle the device so that the air is blowing in your face.

Unfortunately, rechargeable devices are much rarer and harder to find than normal air filters, and many are also expensive.

The best option at the moment, apart from DIY (which is possible, but you need to know what you're doing), seems to be the SmartAir QT3. The size and shape are a bit clunky, but it fits in a backpack. Its battery life isn't long, but it can be supplemented with a power bank.

NASAL SPRAYS

There's some research that suggests that some nasal sprays may be effective in reducing risk of infection by interfering with viruses' ability to bind to your cells.

These sprays are generally affordable, easy to find, and safe. The key ingredient is carrageenan, which is extracted from seaweed. So there are no potential risks or side effects.

Be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging carefully. Here's a video on how to properly use nasal sprays if you've never used them before.

Covixyl is another type of nasal spray that uses a different key ingredient, ethyl lauroyl arginate HCI. It also aims to disrupt viruses' ability to bind to cell walls. Unfortunately, I think it's difficult to obtain outside of the US.

CONCLUSION

None of the methods listed here are foolproof on their own. But by layering them, you can drastically reduce your chances of infection.

The most important layers, by far, are masking and air quality. But you should also stay conscientious when engaging with those layers. Don't let yourself become complacent with rules of thumb, and allow yourself to assess risk and make thought out decisions when situations arise where you might have to take off your mask or enter a high-risk indoor area, such as a hospital.

Remember that the goal is risk reduction. It's impossible to live risk-free, because we live among countless other people. But you can use knowledge and tools to keep yourself as safe as possible.

[disasterhimbo]

[ID: an edit of the “you guys are getting paid?” meme from We’re The Millers. The character looks incredulously at someone next to the camera. He has been edited to be wearing a black cloth mask and the words have been changed to “you guys stopped wearing your masks?”]

basically every day i feel like i have to post this meme i made a while back

[bitchfitch]

Idk. my hottest take in relation to stained glass has to do with resin. So Many YouTubers do "stained glass resin" vids and i know why they do it, because total boat pays them to, but it's gotten your average joe thinking its the better and easier craft.

its literally not, like, in anyway. Like ignoring that resin is just plastic and these people are using gallons of it to convince folk to give their sponsors, who are one of the larger plastic waste creators, a lot of money. Resin is more expensive to do in terms of raw material and is only getting more expensive as plastic regulations tighten up and require the company's to offset the massive amount of waste they're generating. It's way less easy, once that resin starts curing your on a clock vs being able to just fuck off whenever you like, and if you fuck up an SG piece, Big woop just melt off the solder or retry the cut, it's not going to ruin your entire project, while resin isn't even the type of plastic you can melt and reshape.

and the most like Irritating one, Resin isn't safer to do than SG! it just isn't!

like, here's the thing, you can absolutely cut yourself on broken glass or bump the soldering iron, but that's 2 seconds of pain and a bandaid vs resin, which is a known carcinogen and Ridiculously toxic to the point of the fumes alone making people sick and killing pets. Literally all the safety kit for SG is is a pair of glasses and some gardening gloves (which you resuse infinitely instead of often replacing multiple times a project), resin needs eye protection, full skin protection, a proper n95 or other equivalent filter rated for the hazardous chemicals in resin, and Real good ventilation.

And when you're done you have to clean all that plastic crap up instead of just sweeping a bit.

but if you mention any of that during your video, no one will give more money to the people sponsoring you!

[feminist-space]

Wear a mask (respirators like N95s or KN95s or KF94s), especially in healthcare settings, in public transportation, in crowded places. Long covid has severe consequences that, coupled with the dystopian nightmare that is everything else, can be devastating. It's worth it to at least try to take steps to stay safe by wearing a mask. For ourselves and for the people around us.

If you need help getting masks, there are mask blocs throughout the country that you can reach out to. And Project N95 also has resources for those who cannot afford N95 etc respirators.

Excerpts from article:

"About one in four Covid patients experience long-term symptoms weeks or months after getting infected, according to multiple studies published last year."

"A May study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that both unvaccinated and vaccinated people are at risk of long Covid. The risk is higher for the unvaccinated, but the study suggested that vaccines only reduce the risk of long Covid by 15%."

"The report estimates that 2 million to 4 million of those people are currently out of work due to long Covid."

"If 4 million long Covid patients are out of work, the lost earnings could be as high as $230 billion, the report says.

That’s nearly 1% of the country’s current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) of $24.88 trillion."

"The condition can undeniably impact a patient’s life, work and health. Last year, the Americans with Disabilities Act labeled long Covid a disability because of how it can limit the major life activities of patients.

A July 2021 study from the Patient-Led Research Collaborative measured the condition’s effect on patients’ work over the course of seven months. Only about 27% of long Covid patients worked as many hours as they did before failing ill. Roughly 23% weren’t working at all, as a direct result of long Covid. That included being on sick leave, disability leave, quitting, being fired or being unable to find a job that would accommodate them."

[chronicbitchsyndrome]

as someone who is anti-authoritarian and also immunocompromised, i think group masking is as important and effective as good air filtration. for instance: in an indoors event where there is good air filtration + ventilation but no one is masking, you can still get covid if even one person attending the event is infectious, because covid spreads through aerosols that can travel distances of over 30 ft. factors like good fit and filtration efficacy (i.e. cloth masks do not filter air effectively, or kn95s that have huge gaps where infectious aerosols from exhalations can be breathed in/out) are also dependent, but if good masking is provided (i.e. events provide well-fitting, high quality masks) and good air filtration is provided, that can help a lot. i agree that structural issues are the problem, but group masking is also important too! <3

sorry, but this is factually untrue. group masking is significantly less important than good air filtration because it is an individual mitigation (meaning many people cannot or will not do it) and because it is not effective enough at stopping transmission of aerosols for it to be an acceptable mitigation for anyone at high risk. the floor is air filtration (and air filtration does not have to be systemic to be an appropriate mitigation; as i said before, an appropriate air purifier can be purchased by an organization or small group of organizers and used for all events at all venues, a one-time expense of (what generally turns out to be) $500 is well within the budgets of most organizations regularly holding community events).

this is what i mean when i say i'm trying to put together a database of accessible information regarding transmission of respiratory infections; the idea that masking alone makes it possible for at-risk people to have access to begin with is a common misconception that i just do not have the capacity to debunk with sources right now because the sources are inaccessibly written and require you to synthesize unrelated information from five or six different sources to understand.

i use the microCOVID project's risk tracker, which is a spreadsheet you can download and program with COVID transmission rates and other data (i.e. vaccination rates) for your locale. the spreadsheet calculates the probability of COVID infection based on specific factors (amount of time of exposure, masking situation, distance from others, number of others, filtration, ventilation, etc). the tool then breaks these down into approximate "points," and gives you a "point budget" based on the probability of contracting COVID within a 365-day period--you choose the probability you are comfortable with. i have mine set to 1%, which is the recommended probability for anyone not at high risk; if i were to go with the recommended high-risk probably, i'd be at 0.1%, which is restrictive enough that it's literally impossible for my life despite the fact that i am objectively high-risk. this gives me about 170 points per week to do all of my daily life activities that expose me to COVID--so including, like, groceries, doctors' appointments, bus rides, everything.

let's do a basic small community event as an example: a three-hour event, indoors, 10 people, all at least 6 feet away from me, everyone including me wearing KN95s.

without air filtration, that is 120 points. that is literally the only thing i could possibly do that week, barring small excursions where i stay away from people as much as possible.

with air filtration, that is 30 points.

and here's the thing: if i am the only person masking, if i am wearing an N95 and everyone else is barefaced with air filtration, it is 67 points. literally EVERYONE NOT MASKING BUT ME is still accessible if there is air filtration. i and the vast majority of other high-risk people can go to community events where NO-ONE IS MASKING if there is air filtration. i am going to write this again in bold text because i really fucking need everyone to understand this: air filtration and NO-ONE ELSE MASKING is literally MORE ACCESSIBLE than no air filtration and required masks.

air filtration is the floor. masks are not good enough and it is not actually harm reduction to require masking, even if you provide good-quality masks. i need to put together this database because i really fucking need people to understand this. i know you mean well, anon, and i appreciate the sentiment, but this exact sentiment is what is making the entire world inaccessible to anyone high-risk and it is actively causing damage to millions of people.

[aropride]

reasons i cant start smoking cigs

- already have conditions effecting my lungs and breathing, dont need more

- cigs and healthcare are both expensive

- nobody in my family smokes, i cant be the first

- very addictive personality means i can do nothing in moderation

- family history of cancer, dont want cancer

- saw a video of a guy marinating meat in cigarette smoke, was not happy with results

- just bc my hot friends do it doesnt mean i can

- pulling down my n95 to smoke a cigarette would not help cultivate the consistent self-image im trying to project to others

[pandemichub]

"Proceeds from the Project N95 shop and financial contributions from our donors are no longer enough to support our charitable mission. We have made the difficult decision to wind down operations and donate remaining inventory and funds in order to do as much good as possible with our limited remaining resources."

[tiredtriedfailures]

what are your favorite images/videos of kendrick? i mean obviously he’s always gorgeous but what pictures have you kicking your feet and blushing and twirling your hair ykwim

I WAS JUST LOOKING UP REF PICS WHEN I REMEMBERED I PLANNED TO ANSWER THIS BUT DIDNT IM SORRYYYYYY HERE WE GO

THIGHS. the way the clothes drape over him, this hairstyle, which will be shown more in more pics, and the lighting makes this pic a very good reference. dynamic.

love man-bun kennys man FUCK i miss long hair kenny like a motherfucker. lovely angle of his face, the pose is nice, the subtle bisexual lighting is always welcome, 10/10 no notes

damn i might be obsessed with man-bun kenny more than i knew my whole folder has lotsa these. he looked so good in LOYALTY tho didnt he. the romantic tension of that video really did grew on me with time.

2017 mtv kendrick i have feelings for you. mostly awe and envy but theyre still feelings come on

the layers the Neckerchief the braids he looks like the genius archeologist traveling to ancient ruins to solve a world ending problem in a movie

WOAH THIS IS ONE OF THE RARE ONES. SMALL BUN WITH SOME OF THE HAIR LET DOWN. damn does he look extra pretty here or am i just too kenpilled

does he look majestic or am i really too kenpilled. theres such royalty in him in this pic damn

cant lie this one is on here cuz beyonce adds such aura to this holy shit. im not even a beyhiver but this duo, damn. they ruled empires in the past

looks cute, dramatic lighting is nice, chest looks bomb

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH THIS ONE. the shiny lips the pearls the scarf on the cap the earringgggg. AUGH AUGHHH

LOVE THIS ONE TOO. WHY DONT WE HAVE A PHOTOSHOOT OF THE MR MORALE HAIR WHY WHY WHYYYY

This fit and performance was so fire and IT was the reason i was knee deep in getty images btw. trying to gather all hq kendrick pics i could get my hands on for my Projects. the accessories, the clean suit...call this pic the YAWK YAWK YAWK YAWK the way im down

oh i have a few screenshots from the Jay Rock WOW cuz he was so gorgeous there. this time im not asking for confirmation, not doubting it, GORGEOUS. actually felt grief when i realized the looks from this video are not photographed, nor does he fuckin sit still in the video for a single sec for me to grab some good pics. if you wanna see my favorite kendrick videos just go to that one WOW edit hes. lord

i saved this twice cuz i like it so much. lil pirate. OH also i never mentioned but when hes adjusting his chain in N95 (? im p sure its it, black and white. idk) and he smiles kinda mischeviously, he reminds me of Jack Sparrow. just that 2 second snippet. just in there. its probably the close up beard and the air of playfulness idk

i told you i have more of these. and i still do im gatekeeping them. this one is so drawable tho god im getting the shakes the tingles. i just cant do em justice

this is from one of the silliest kendrick collabs, i talked about it before its Thats Me Right There where hes begging to hit like the worlds thirstiest man to a girl who sings all song about how ride or die she is to her guy. tragic, hilarious, i just paused IMMEDIATELY when this shot passed because of how beautiful his lips good. look. i mean how good they look. maybe i gotta go to sleep lamo am i yapping too much?

LMAO just WHAT are you wearing my guyyyy. the face and head are clear and the angle is interesting but what is that ATROCITY hes wearing lmaoooo. why did i save this. probably cuz of the expression, somewhere between a smile and curious look idk

okay okay thats all, i yapped long and hard, gave away most of my best pics. oh hey btw i hope tumblr doesnt mess with the quality cuz theyre all nice professional pics, from getty as mentioned lmao. sad we dont have the pics im constantly whining about, interesting clothes and angles, all sorts of facial expressions, showing off his face showing off his figure. so yeah. these are my faves, lemme know yours! dont gatekeep good pics from me what do you know i might actually draw kenny fanart if im inspired more than im scared

[covid-safer-hotties]

Hi! I was just wondering, do you have any advice/suggestions for wearing a mask when you have a large face? I don’t have this problem but my boyfriend does, and sometimes it causes major sensory overload for him. I also can’t convince him to wear a better mask than just a surgical one (I had a hard enough time convincing him to continue masking in the first place so I’m taking my victories where I can), so maybe this could be a way to get him to wear a better mask lol

Get him bigger masks would probably fix all the issues