Masks empty shelves?

[nieuport17]

Was looking for a mask to do a project this weekend. And guess what.
There are no masks of any kind stocked near me.
What the heck.

 

[QUIKSVT]

Coronaviras

 

[powertrip]

Hysteria.
Paranoia.

 

[PelicanPines]

China is working hard to resupply our shelves.

 

[nieuport17]

Coronaviras

Except I don’t remember people empty mask shelves during bird flu, SARS, or Ebola.
I checked: homedepot, walmart, harbor freight, and lowes. Nothing
It was so weird. Felt like someone was playing a prank on me.

 

[PelicanPines]

Not a joke... welcome to needless panic...

If you run the numbers... if everyone who gets the normal flu... gets this new one... 90% will survive just fine...

 

[upgrading]

It is an understandable panic based on lack of info and political agendas.

I do feel sorry for workers who need these masks for there day to day tasks and might not be able to get them.

Hopefully USA made stuff can come online soon.

 

[5.0vert]

Same here... was at Home Depot and they were cleaned out. They let someone come in and buy everything mask they had. Total was $1800!!! I just started looking on line and nobody has them in stock.

 

[dogdog]

LMFAO I think this is the third or fourth thread popped out since last week.....

 

[Whitworth]

Not sure what value ordinary nuisance masks are, they recommend N95 or higher (for flu) which are usually $5 or more a piece.

 

[PelicanPines]

Not sure what value ordinary nuisance masks are, they recommend N95 or higher (for flu) which are usually $5 or more a piece.

Like button pressed... thank you.

 

[Ilikeike]

Look on eBay and Craigslist, But I'm marking them all up 1000%

 

[Minnesota Steve]

The shelves have been empty for last several weeks. If you look on ebay you'll find them... selling for $30/mask.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Masks aren't recommended unless you are in health care in close contact and may not even work then. Need 95+, change them out regularly and no facial hair. The futzing with the mask (hands by face) is a negative for general population.

Keep your distance, wash your hands.

 

[Marctrees]

MSC has good stock as of last night.

Both throwaway white ones, and 3M half face resp w the replacable pads.



Marc

 

[kctyphoon]

We have fastenal stocked vending machine at work. The dust masks probably NEVER get dispensed.. Their slot is now empty..

The shelves were bare in Home Depot, with a sign that said limit 10 per customer.
What’s gonna happen, is the more people see bare shelves, the more they are gonna think THEY should stocking up too.. The first domino has fallen - now watch ‘group think’ do the rest..

I’m heading for Mexico..

 

[Marctrees]

It is an understandable panic based on lack of info and political agendas.

I do feel sorry for workers who need these masks for there day to day tasks and might not be able to get them.

Hopefully USA made stuff can come online soon.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/28/3m-ramps-up-production-of-masks-to-meet-coronavirus-demand.html

 

[zendriver]

1918 Spanish Flu killed 50 million around the world.

It's either "no biggie" or "hell in a hand-basket"

Choose who you want to believe.

 

[slowtwitch73]

I hear harbor Freight is having a 30% off sale.

 

[AA/FC]

The shelves have been empty for at least a month.

lol, I'm not listening to the the governments recommendation of NOT using personal protection equipment. If there is something that can potentially kill me floating in mid air, I'm going to wear a mask.... At least I tried to save myself. The only reason why they are telling people masks are not recommended is because the world is in short supply and medical staff and people in other countries need them more than we do right now.... Until that changes and suddenly we need them. Then what? The people who listened to the government's recommendation and the mainstream media will be wishing they hadn't. I'm not saying we should hoard them, but having a few masks on-hand would be a good idea if you can find them.

 

[rlitman]

Not sure what value ordinary nuisance masks are, they recommend N95 or higher (for flu) which are usually $5 or more a piece.

$5 or more if you're buying ONE N95 mask. I used to pay about $15 for a ten-pack, and I'm sure the price will return to that once this blows over.

I hear harbor Freight is having a 30% off sale.

Laugh all you want, but I saw a wall section FULL of masks at HF today. Not that I was buying any.

 

[AA/FC]

Not sure what value ordinary nuisance masks are, they recommend N95 or higher (for flu) which are usually $5 or more a piece.

I just received this box today. I paid $19.63 for a box of 20 respirators, $2.12 sales tax, and $8.49 shipping, for a grand total of $30.24.... that works out to $1.51 each, and thats including tax and shipping. Sure you can buy more expensive N95 respirators but not all of them are $5 dollars each.

 

[JRC3]

I was at Rural King the other day and they had plenty. I knew stocks were being bought up and should've bought some while I was there, as I'm out of them and need to work in the attic soon. This RK is in a rural area where they don't worry about China too much.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Not a joke... welcome to needless panic...

If you run the numbers... if everyone who gets the normal flu... gets this new one... 90% will survive just fine...

So by your math....9-45 million cases of per year at a 10% death rate. That would be 900,000-4.5 million deaths in the US, PER YEAR.

No cause for concern.

Fortunately, your math is wrong.

The real numbers aren't exactly great, though. 3 percent is the real number, which puts us at:

270,000-1.35 million deaths

BUT, those flu infection numbers are with roughly half the population vaccinated. There is no vaccine for this virus. So take those numbers and double them:

540,000-2.7 million deaths. Per year.

This **** needs to be taken seriously.

 

[Whitworth]

So by your math....9-45 million cases of per year at a 10% death rate. That would be 900,000-4.5 million deaths in the US, PER YEAR.

No cause for concern.

Fortunately, your math is wrong.

The real numbers aren't exactly great, though. 3 percent is the real number, which puts us at:

270,000-1.35 million deaths

BUT, those flu infection numbers are with roughly half the population vaccinated. There is no vaccine for this virus. So take those numbers and double them:

540,000-2.7 million deaths. Per year.

This **** needs to be taken seriously.

The mortality rate is probably 0.6 to 0.7 percent for COVID-19, which is in line with flu mortality rate in general.

This is supported by the number of deaths on the Diamond Princess ship. The death rate based on data from China and other countries is defective, in that total infections are not tallied because loads of people get a mild case and it's never identified. Add to that an authoritarian response from a communist government and anyone with half a brain is going to keep their illness to themselves.
Even Italy is overreacting to this.

The disease is probably already here and percolating thru the population right now.

 

[Rabid Badger]

The mortality rate is probably 0.6 to 0.7 percent for COVID-19, which is in line with flu mortality rate in general.

The mortality rate for seasonal flu is <0.1%.

 

[JAYoung]

It's been widely reported that face masks do little for the general public to prevent the wearer from getting COVID-19, though they do help on infected people from spreading the virus.
Sadly, most people don't read and do their homework, and even if they do they rush out and buy stuff just to do something or to be part of the crowd. You're probably better off wearing nitrile gloves when you're out in public.

 

[JRC3]

............

 

[visionguru]

The most important factor is not people are buying up the masks, rather the supply chain is disrupted. Large percentage of masks are made in China, with the big lock down, not only the mask orders won't get filled, also the materials that are needed to make masks won't get out.

It's going to take a while for the situation returning to normal.

 

[mr.lemons]

Same story in the UK. They are selling out fast.

Wonder if anyone is selling Chinese masks back to China?

 

[Dave455]

Over here in the U.K. it’s a similar story.

I’m not sure it’s just a supply issue though. A lot of masks sold here are made in the U.K. or Europe, and they’re still getting scarce, so that’s due to folks buying. They are available, just not in large quantities.

The shortages only seem to be affecting the ‘packed flat’ type of masks though, if you want a proper full face of half face mask, with removable filters, there’s no problem.

Edit - crossed with mr.lemons

 

[slowtwitch73]

Same story in the UK. They are selling out fast.

Wonder if anyone is selling Chinese masks back to China?

Yes.. Chinese Americans are evidently buying many and sending them back to family... source CNN.

I would prefer health professionals have the masks as they are front line for everyone and know how to use them. They must be replaced every 4 hrs of use at the longest.. vapor from users breath degrades mask. Millions of masks will be bought and have little to no utility as far as keeping buyer 'safe' from any virus.

 

[CJ7VFR]

A guy near me, who sells stuff on Facebook all the time, bought up a huge stock pile of the dust masks, the ones that come 50 to a box for $10. He is now selling them on his Facebook page for $20 for 5 of them.

And he is sellling them so fast he ships out at least 20 orders a day he said.

He is making a killing on these stupid things. He said he wants to make enough off of them to buy a brand new Ram pickup truck by the springtime.

He must have purchased thousands of these things.

Jim

 

[IdahoMan]

China is working hard to resupply our shelves.

Heh.

Coronavirus - Made in China, from global materials.

 

[AA/FC]

I know 3M has at least two factories that make various N95 masks here in the USA, (if not more) and if Im not mistaken at least one factory in the UK.... Sure, 3M has factories around the globe but not all of our masks come from China... The box of 3M respirators that I have say made in USA.

You guys can have the Chinese masks, I'll stick with the ones made here in the US. Lolol.

 

[driz]

Good luck getting your hands on masks for your upcoming projects[emoji30]. I’m glad I have a few 3M 6000 masks snd a couple boxes of N95 & p2000 filters. I only change them out once they’re nasty anyways.
Strange thing. I was looking at a youtube earlier in the week. Some guy in Hong Kong wrote in the comments how you couldn’t lay hands on cheap surgical masks period but you could buy the 3M series rubber ones anyplace due to government recommendations. Something about their not being disposable and bringing contamination home with you . Who knows??[emoji2373]


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[PelicanPines]

Wal-Mart has multipacks of women's underwear... not sure if they are equally effective as an N95. Might want to double up.

 

[Robbie B]

It’s funny because there are only 4 masks listed on the CDC’s website for being able to help prevent the spread of diseases. The only thing an n95 will do is stop the droplets from getting in your mouth and nose. You can still breathe the virus in through the mask because the material isn’t antiviral. Also if your not wearing medical grade splash goggles you might as well not wear the masks. The eyes are just as easily a route of transmission as the mouth and nose. And for those of you who laugh off the potential of what this could do... this virus has a mortality rate of about 2% average but it varies by age group. We have 3 hundred million people in the US. At those numbers that’s 6 million potential deaths in the US. And let’s not forget what this is doing to the economies of the world. We already have supply chain disruptions and it’s only going to get worse until we find a cure and can vaccinate for it.


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[AA/FC]

And for those of you who laugh off the potential of what this could do... this virus has a mortality rate of about 2% average but it varies by age group.

Exactly, and that's going by the numbers reported by other countries, mostly China.... and everyone KNOWS they are not reporting the true numbers. That is NOT disputed by anyone. lol. People who have their heads stuck in the sand over this deal will eventually realize the severity of this threat, some might even find out the hard way.

 

[rlitman]

The most important factor is not people are buying up the masks, rather the supply chain is disrupted. Large percentage of masks are made in China, with the big lock down, not only the mask orders won't get filled, also the materials that are needed to make masks won't get out.

It's going to take a while for the situation returning to normal.

No. The 3M facilities that produce these masks in China have been nationalized. Their supply chain is just fine. In fact they've ramped up production to 24x7, effectively producing at least 400% more than currently. However, for the time being, China has halted all exports.

Masks ARE produced in the US as well. Again, production has been ramped up, but we've got a SMALL issue with masks being hoarded (some of which may be shipped back to China). My understanding is that government agencies have taken over the initial shipments leaving the domestic factories, to divert them for best use. Which means that in a decade, when the next virus hits, someone will uncover a warehouse full of dusty pallets of these things.

And just to be clear, 3M is by no means the only manufacturer facing the mask crunch.

It’s funny because there are only 4 masks listed on the CDC’s website for being able to help prevent the spread of diseases. The only thing an n95 will do...

BS, or include a link! Here, I'll provide one for you:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/maskguidance.htm

Healthcare Personnel
A surgical mask or fit-tested respirator should be worn by healthcare personnel who are within 6 feet of a suspected or laboratory-confirmed influenza patient.