I started wearing an actual 3M surgical mask over three years ago (that's at least a year before Pope Fauci and his Branch Covidian fanatics took over). I started wearing it to circumvent the flu. Since then I have had zero flu, pneumonia, common colds or the big bad COVID. Before I started wearing the mask, I'd get flu 2 to 5 times a year, every year, for the ten years I was keeping track. You can spin doctor that however you please...I see it as cause and effect. So no, you don't need an N95 mask, just a real surgical mask. No pretend surgical mask like you buy at the drugstore, and definitely not any cloth handkerchief!