Okay, I understand that hoarding of N-95 respirators (ala PPEs) led to the official statement a few months ago that only first responders, doctors, and nurses should wear them. However, if I had COPD and I had to go to a grocery store or pharmacy, and I could obtain an N-95 respirator, I would wear it instead of a mask or bandanna whenever I was within about ten feet of "joe public." People with COPD are much more vulnerable than others (including those with asthma) when exposed to any respiratory virus. COPD exacerbations due to COVID-19 cause high mortality rates. Requiring mechanical ventilation this year is a dire circumstance to be avoided if at all possible.
N-95 respirators will "soon" become available for sale again to the general public in the Untied States and Canada. People with severe COPD have trouble exhaling, so get one with an exhalation valve, which will make it easier to breathe (while minimizing the number of small respirable particles entering your body each time you inhale). Choose the smallest one which will fit your face snugly. This will minimize the "dead space" which is the volume inside the mask (unrelated to death). A large volume in the mask means inhaling more of the 5% carbon dioxide that you are exhaling. That makes you more short of breath (especially if you are a "CO2 retainer" according to your ABGs).
The industrial hygienists who work for large companies whose employees are exposed to smoke, dust, or fumes, have instruments which test the fit of respirators for each employee who needs one for protection on the job. Since those instruments are probably not available for you, here are three simple things you can do to improve the fit of an N-95 respirator: 1) Bend the metal strap at the top of the respirator over your nose. 2) Position the straps so that when you quickly inhale, the mask collapses against your cheeks. 3) For men: shave off your beard.
How did I learn this stuff? For a decade, I worked near the guys at NIOSH in Morgantown, West Virginia who certify respirator models. They use instruments which measure what percentage of respirable dusts (down to 2 microns) get through each model. With a good fit, N-95 respirators allow less than 5% through with each breath in a polluted atmosphere. Is that enough to prevent you from becoming infected with a person working next to you several hours per day who has a COVID-19 infection? The thousands of folks working in meat packing plants hope so. But I've been a vegetarian for 70 years.