Do NOT throw your bandana away!
Repeat, do NOT throw your bandana away!
Remember that study from Duke University in the US that I wrote about recently, in which they ranked the effectiveness of face coverings?
Here’s the link to my original blog post.
In the Duke study, buffs/bandanas/neck gaiters came out last, and since that’s what I use when running, I’ve been getting comments from my husband, every time I head out.
In fact, he even left his copy of Thursday’s Economic Times on my desk, ostentatiously opened to this article (below):
Now there is a rebuttal, and from no less a source than today’s New York Times.
Do read the full article, it’s very interesting and written in a simple-to-understand way.
This comment from the Duke authors (below) is, I think, significant:
“Even the study’s authors said their data had been misconstrued. “Our intent was not to say this mask doesn’t work, or never use neck gaiters,” said Martin Fischer, an associate research professor in the department of chemistry at Duke and a co-author of the study. “This was not the main part of the paper.”
So there we have it.
(Apparently only one person wearing a bandana was tested, by the way.)
I am mighty relieved at this clarification, because using a buff/bandana is the most convenient way of covering up.
And yet, after reading the Duke study, I did wonder if I was being foolish.
In our incredibly hot and humid climate here in Delhi, a buff is the best option.
As someone who wears glasses AND uses headphones, I really dreaded the idea of yet another entanglement, namely the elastic of a conventional mask.
There is also the ecological impact of discarding those thin surgical masks – which in any case we are supposed to leave for the health care professionals.
So, yes, a big sigh of relief.
The most important thing is that we all cover up, especially when passing other people.
Here’s the link to the Duke study, by the way.