Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/27/heres-a-great-guide-to-avoiding-covid-on-airplanes.html
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Post contributed by Jennifer Sandlin
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I’m not adding anything, but I just avoid air travel entirely, albeit for different reasons. 
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This seems way over the top. Wearing a good N95 mask for the entire flight should be sufficient (along with washing your hands/sanitizer). I’ve been using the silicone seal ones from softsealmask.com. Since nobody else seems to care about masks anymore (it’s for my protection, not others), I’ve been using the ones with valves so there is less moisture collecting inside.
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Wow, this is extraordinarily cautious. I’m an infectious disease epidemiologist, and while this is… Um. …going to keep you safe, the incremental advantages you gain by keeping yourself in a near-sterile bubble (personal UV light? anti-microbial mouthwash? Really?) seem far out-weighed by the intense stress (for me, anyway).
- Stay hydrated
- Wear your mask (a good one)
- Wash your hands
- Don’t stress over unmasking briefly to eat, drink, etc, but I would recommend masking right back up. Studies have shown that risk of infection increases with dose and duration of exposure. If you can eat in a few minutes, you should be fine.
Depending on your tolerance for risk, consider masking at the gate, and masking in the plane until it reaches altitude. At that point, the filtration system should have circulated the air, and begun removing infectious particles. THIS IS NOT PERFECT and you are at higher risk of Covid on a plane than elsewhere (this is common sense, you are packed in like sardines), but once the air filtration systems have fully kicked in, the amount of infectious particles in the air will be lower (assuming there were any to begin with) than while at the gate, taxiing, etc. But if you are someone at risk of Covid (eg, preexisting conditions that put you at risk for a bad outcome), it’s best to mask up for the whole trip, unfortunately!
But I would not invest in the suite of gear they recommend in this post.
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I agree, for most people all of this is way over the top. As I mentioned, though, if folks can do even one or two, it would help reduce the spread of COVID. And I agree, if a person only wants to do ONE thing, the absolute most important thing would be to mask.
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thanks for these suggestions – i agree with all of this. if folks only did one thing – mask – even for most of the time, this would greatly reduce the spread of covid!
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A neti pot, really? Instant credibility loss. “Avoid COVID, replace it with some other sinus infection.”
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Well don’t fly so that’s not an issue.
We’ve been using N95 masks and Enovid nasal spray. We get the spray from Israel Pharm. It’s 50 bucks a bottle.
A little pricey and we only use it if we’re going to be in a situation we think is risky.
For example, we’ve been visiting a friend in the hospital so we use the spray before we go in and when we get home.
We also wear a mask.
Does the spray work? Our research of the research says maybe probably. It’s definitely can’t hurt territory.
I do wish it would get approved in the states though, buying from Israel is pricey but Israel Pharm has been reliable and a pleasure to do business with.
Other than that, social distancing is still a thing for us and no indoor gatherings.
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