The government has already sent masks to town halls and pharmacies around the country.
Jeffrey Guillemard / Bloomberg
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Pharmacies and retailers have already received some of the 400 million free N95 masks that President Joe Biden has promised to distribute to people across the country in yet another effort to combat the spread of Covid-19. How to get yours.
Where can you find free N95 masks?
The N95 masks are available in most of the stores that participate in the federal pharmacy’s vaccine program, including
Albertsons
,
Costco
,
CVS, HEB,
Kroger
,
Publix,
Rite help
,
and
Walgreens
.
Other dealers, including Hy-Vee,
Walmart
,
and Meijer has also started handing out masks.
Masks are not yet available in all locations, but the program will be fully operational by mid-February, with masks available in “tens of thousands of convenient locations,” including health centers and local stores, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients said Wednesday. He called it the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.
Are the masks really free?
Yes. You do not have to pay VAT or provide identification or insurance card. Providers hand out three stitches a day to each adult. Giveaways of child-sized masks are also planned.
Where did they come from?
The American-made masks are distributed from the federal government’s strategic national warehouse, which is a warehouse of medical equipment.
Why have I not been able to find these on my own?
The availability of masks has been limited by supply chain challenges, and increased demand for better masks has led to pricing and counterfeit masks. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has published a list of approved N95 respirators available at pharmacies and home improvement stores, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a guide to help people distinguish between genuine and fake NIOSH-approved masks. .
Why N95 masks?
Non-surgical N95 masks are more densely woven and filter more efficiently than paper or fabric masks. Certified N95 masks are designed to filter up to 95% of the particles in the air, preventing users from inhaling or exhaling the virus.
The CDC said well-fitted respirators like the N95s “offer the highest level of protection” against catching or spreading coronavirus. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said that the best masks are close-fitting masks that people will tolerate wearing all day.
Why is the government giving away masks?
Wearing masks is part of the Biden administration’s overall strategy – along with vaccines, boosters, Covid tests, pills and antibody treatments – to combat the pandemic, control its spread and keep schools and businesses open.
The average number of new coronavirus infections has dropped 6% from last week to 692,400 a day, and new admissions have dropped 8% to 19,800, but the average number of deaths has increased by 21% to 2,166 a day.
“While it’s encouraging that Omicron seems to be causing less serious illness… ‘Milder’ does not mean ‘mild’,” Walensky said on Wednesday. approaching 2,200 a day due to the extremely portable Omicron variant. “
Why did the government not send them to people along with their free Covid tests?
Zients said the administration decided that the quickest way to get the masks off was to go through local health centers and pharmacies. “We have already sent out masks [to retailers and pharmacies] … I think the decision to use these channels to get the masks out right away is the right decision. “
The mask distribution is a supplement to the government’s distribution of four free quick home tests for each home. A site for people to order these tests opened last week, and it takes about a week to 12 days to arrive through the U.S. Postal Service.
Which US listed companies make masks?
Honeywell International
(SHE) and
3M
(MMM) makes masks, and masks have grown into billion-dollar deals for the couple.
The federal government’s mask plan came at 3M’s conference call on Tuesday. The company said it saw a pickup in its mask business in December, adding about $ 40 million in sales. 3M reported $ 8.6 billion in total sales in the fourth quarter.
“We are pleased with the partnership we have with the federal government right now in this regard. We have had a lot of dialogue with them,” CFO Monish Patolawala said at the company’s earnings conference in the fourth quarter.
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