science

You said they "don't do much", which isn't true. The virus might be smaller, but most of the infectious particles are larger than the size of a single virus. Quantity you're breathing in makes a difference too.

N95 masks have an electrstatic layer that removes particles (such as viruses) that are much smaller than the mask pores. The size of the pores is almost immaterial at that scale.

Also, Covid is an aerosol virus, not droplets. The difference is that droplets are large enough to fall to the ground due to gravity, while aerosols linger in the air like smoke. The idea that it was droplets led to the idea of 6 foot social distancing, which would give the particles time to fall to the ground. But that doesn't work. You really need filtration, such as masks and/or HEPA filters. UVC light is also showing some promise for killing the virus in the air, but N95's are tried and true.

This is misinformation. Masks are rated based on 0.3 micron particles because that's the size that's hardest to filter. Smaller particles are actually more likely to be filtered due to how they move.

https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20459-osha-updates-faqs-to-address-particle-sizes-and-n95s

The “N95” classification means respirator filters remove at least 95% of “very small” particles (around 0.3 microns in diameter) from the air, OSHA explains, adding that some people have claimed incorrectly that the virus is about 0.1 microns in size. Further, when the virus becomes airborne via an infected person talking, coughing or sneezing, those particles contain more than the virus – they also include water or mucus. Those larger particles are too big to pass through an N95 respirator filter, while electrostatic charge attracts the particles to the fibers in the filter.

“In addition, the smallest particles constantly move around (called Brownian motion), and are very likely to hit a filter fiber and stick to it,” the agency states.