Volunteer Responder Equipment: Difference between revisions

In fact, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, N95s were ''not'' recommended as an effective barrier against viruses and bacteria (and COVID, for example, is ~0.06–0.14 µm across). What changed? Wired has printed an interesting article about the reasons guidance changed and how new science during COVID prompted those changes.<ref>Molteni, M., & Rogers, A. (2020, July 2). How masks went from Don’t-Wear to Must-Have during the coronavirus pandemic. ''WIRED''. https://www.wired.com/story/how-masks-went-from-dont-wear-to-must-have</ref> But to make a long story short: N95 respirators don’t target viruses floating completely alone — instead, they are designed to block the aerosols and droplets that carry viruses and bacteria. Because of how N95 filters work, they are effective at capturing both those larger particles and even particles smaller than a single virus, which is why they protect against airborne diseases like COVID-19.