Masks I’ve Worn During Covid-19

Covid-19 was declared a pandemic in March, and since then I’ve been slowly growing a collection of face masks. I have only purchased a couple masks, most of my collection has been supplied by my employer and/or given to me by patients/friends/family. 

Face Shield: This was given to me from work, it’s intention was to provide an extra layer of protection when administering vaccines to patients. It was meant to be worn with the surgical mask. I have only worn this a handful of times, the policy changed and now we can administer vaccines with just the surgical mask.

N95: This was given to me from a patient when the pandemic was initially declared. My patient gave it to me as I am an essential worker, and he had ordered them earlier in the year to do a construction project. I realize that these masks were intended to be given to hospital workers in direct contact with Covid-19 patients. I only wore this a handful of times, it is extremely hard to breath in and not necessary for my line of work. 

Surgical Mask: This is my *favorite mask* to wear, I change my mask out everyday and it agrees the best with my skin. This was the first mask that was supplied from my employer, when our mandatory mask policy came into effect in June. At that time I was only given 1 surgical mask, and my company policy included sanitizing the mask after each shift by holding it above boiling water so that the steam could disinfect. I am very thankful to have a supply of masks now, so that i can go a few days before sanitizing my masks. 

Cloth Mask: If a surgical mask is not available to me, my second choice is the cloth mask. I like them because they can go through the wash and are reusable. I find that they are not as breathable in comparison to the surgical mask.