Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
NPHET HAS RECOMMENDED clearer health guidance that a medical or respirator face mask offers greater protection against Covid-19 than a cloth mask.
In the most recent letter from the Chief Medical Officer to the Health Minister send on 6 January, Dr Tony Holohan said some older people and vulnerable people may prefer to wear a respirator mask in crowded outdoor spaces and confined indoor spaces.
Current advice recommends that people in these cohorts wear a blue disposable medical face mask instead of a cloth face covering.
Respirator masks include N95 and FFP2 masks which are generally white and fit closely around the mouth and nose.
The NPHET letter says that, when worn properly, respirator masks “may provide a higher level of protection against inhaling virus that may be valuable for people at higher risk”.
The letter also says that respirator and medical grade face masks must in the first instance be prioritised for healthcare workers.
And it further recommends guidance that expresses all types of masks, including cloth face coverings, can “significantly reduce” Covid transmission.
FFP2 masks are mandatory on public transport and in shops in several countries such as Austria.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, immunology professor at Maynooth University Paul Moynagh said there is evidence to show that “higher quality masks certainly work and work better than cloth masks”.
“I think they would help… I certainly think they would be better than cloth masks and face coverings,” he said.
Communicating the message
The letter from the CMO says the HSE should develop “targeted communications” to provide the appropriate information and clear messaging around face masks.
The letter says that ideally a respirator or medical face mask should be worn by:
The letter also says the CMO will write to the National Immunisation Advisory Committee to seek views on the future likely requirements for Covid vaccination.
At the time the letter was sent to minister Stephen Donnelly last week, the incidence of the disease in all age groups under 65 was at the highest recorded levels at any point in the pandemic.
NPHET recommended that no additional Covid measures were necessary at this time and that current measures should be maintained until 30 January.
The HSE website currently says that cloth face masks are what “most people should wear in places where a face mask is required”.
It says people who are at higher risk from Covid-19, such as the over 70s and people with an underlying condition, should wear a medical face mask.
The HSE site says that visors and face shields, which are sometimes accepted in place of a face covering, are “not the best option for protecting yourself and others from Covid-19″.
The HSE also advises against wearing face masks that have a valve or a vent because people could “breathe in or breathe out the virus through the valve or vent”.
The Department of Health and HSE have been contacted for comment.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Sure we’re only 2 years into it!!
@Gareth Wogan: Tomorrow NPHET will advise us to wash our hands. Lmao.
@Gareth Wogan: And some are still wearing their original ffp2 mask!
They’ve run out of idea’s so. Disband nphet now.
@Ian O Hara: have to somehow pretend that they are doing something to justify their enormous wages.
@John Johnes: Experts in their respective fields earning good money bothers you ? How much are these ‘enormous wages’ anyway, seeing as you appear to know ?
@Tommy Roche: they are not doing the word “expert” much favours. Nor the WHO.
So the masks there giving out at the test centers are no good?, Every week that man sends a letter and change’s the advice, will they ever leave us alone to get on with life.
@Heisen berg1: someone on Twitter said they turned up with one of these (better) masks and had to put on a surgical mask.
@john smith iv: The advice change’s on a daily basis in this country, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, no wonder Joe Public hasent got a clue what’s going on! We look across the water at the UK and BJ and think he’s off his Rocker! But I think we should be looking a bit closer to home.
Don’t we all already know this??? Or have we written off 2020 + 2021 & are just putting this information out there now?!
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: you’d be amazed what some people still don’t know!
Check the Covid stats post daily for those who still don’t understand the basics of how the vaccines work.
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: We do already know this, but some people would rather ignore it and continue buying discount store cloth masks, at least one of which actually says on the packaging that it is not even suitable as a dust mask, let alone a barrier against viral particles.
@Tommy Roche: er, this isn’t the same mask. This is the N95 white mask they wear in Germany. I have a few dozen. They are better than existing surgical style masks.
@Tommy Roche: We’ve all been wearing N95 masks since this started. Luke O’Neill said on both Claire Byrne and the Tonight Show that N95 masks were the best masks to wear and that was about a month into the pandemic.
@Ann Reddin: And I meant to say that none of us have had covid.
Seems lots people don’t get it, the surgical/medical masks (Commonly blue) are good enough for Delta, but not for Omicron, using N95 and FFP2 were suggested after Omicron was out few weeks later. It is still pricey now, around €2 each. In my business, all staff required wearing double masks, we are trying to protect staff and customers. Now We are in pandemic for two years, I haven’t seen one mask made in Ireland, is that difficult or expensive project? Even today bought lots antigen tests, still made in China, asked any made in Ireland? NOPE, I am chinese, but I don’t like it, self-reliance is really important. why Irish gov don’t fund/put money in those sectors? Instead gave unless gov pay raise or 1.4 million printer? Can 1.4 million not build a mask manufactuing line?
@Ní neart go cur le chéile.: I paid €4 for a couple out of a vending machine in Rome last week, Ryanair wouldn’t let passengers on the flight without one.
So we’re now at the mildest stage of the virus, and they want us to upgrade or masks.
Also quadruple the price in some cases
@Rob Foley: I ordered a few boxes off Amazon.de earlier – about €17 for a box of €20
@D: That’s great value , I must order a few boxes of €20 myself .
How many €20 do you get per box ?
@Dan Ryan: oops! Sorry €17 for a box of 20. Long week and it’s only Tuesday!
you mean I’m not helping to save humanity by wearing the equivalent of a dish cloth on my face for 1 1/2 years??!!
We’ve known this from the early days but finding them is another story.
If they work better why not advise everyone to get them?? Is this like when varadkar said in March 2019 that masks were rubbish, and then later said “no they’re actually class I only said they were rubbish coz I didn’t want supplies to run out for medical staff”? Coz by now they should know that casually using ‘lies’ as a tactic loses public trust.
@Rob Gale: yes. It’s that reason again. They are limited.
Joe soap knew this long ago but so called experts and Dr death has only just realised it.
Even better than the Muppet show or key stone cops.
The viser would stop droplets getting in your eyes and probably better than a mask of any kind!
@Max Power: amazing no one ever thought of that. Then maybe just wear a pair of sunglasses in a room with a HEPA filter
@Max Power: a visor without a mask is as much use as a chocolate teapot.
@Max Power: what does a visor do about inhalation? Wear one with a mask by all means but most visors do nothing to reduce spread from the person wearing it.
@NotMyIreland: that’s a myth. A chocolate teapot is useful if you want a chocolate tea (it’s not good for making tea I grant you.)
@Splat: let me know when you have a gig on again
@Dave O’Keeffe: a visor helps prevent you from getting infected through your eyes… if you do not get infected then you don’t spread it !
Wearing a cloth mask that you inhale and exhale through easily ticks the box for you well good…..
@Max Power: Getting Covid via your eyes is unlikely. https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/coronavirus-transmission-through-eyes/
NEPHET’ advice is like a varient in itself ,…….bit late for many now to be hearing this , these type masks might have helped some people cover their Noses
have your say