Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been assured that community masking compliance would solve our problems and halt the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Yet real-world application data has consistently shown them to fail as a mitigation measure for personal protection, and instead of correcting course on the haphazard guidance that was doled out, we were told to mask harder with increasingly restrictive, albeit effectively non-mitigating apparatuses.

But why did they fail, and why do they continue to fail? Below, we delve into the specifics on why, even if assuming hypothetical perfect capture capacity, N95s fail to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

We should begin by viewing viral transmissibility and output of infectious matter as spectrums, based on severity of illness, immune response of a given individual, and progress in the course of illness. These have all been shown to have significant impacts on the viral load of an individual infected with SARS-CoV-2.