What do systematic reviews say?

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

It is very uncertain whether N95 respirators changes viral respiratory illness ‐ clinical respiratory illness compared with medical/surgical masks (very low certainty).

• Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.7 [0.45, 1.1]
  3 studies · 7799 participants
  Very low

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

N95 respirators showed no clear difference in viral respiratory illness ‐ influenza‐like illness compared with medical/surgical masks (low certainty).

• Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.82 [0.66, 1.03]
  5 studies · 8407 participants
  Low

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

N95 respirators showed no clear difference in viral respiratory illness ‐ laboratory‐confirmed influenza compared with medical/surgical masks (moderate certainty).

• Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 1.1 [0.9, 1.34]
  5 studies · 8407 participants
  Moderate

N95 respirators vs medical/surgical masks

• Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses 2023 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  5 studies · 5 participants
  Very low