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President Joe Biden’s administration will make upwards of 400 million N95 masks available for free at thousands of locations across the country beginning this week, officials said on Wednesday, Jan. 19 as the Omicron variant continues to be the dominant strain of the virus.
Officials said that the plan will include the feds working with pharmacy and local health departments to distribute the nonsurgical masks, which will be supplied through the Strategic National Stockpile.
The masks will begin being shipped out this week, and the White House hopes to have the program fully operational by the beginning of February.
This effort will be the largest distribution of free masks by the federal government to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Dr. Tom Inglesby, the Biden administration's COVID-19 testing coordinator, noted in a recent interview that, "we know that these masks provide better protection than cloth masks.”
Masks will be made available to all Americans, regardless of their vulnerability to COVID-19, income, or other priorities, with up to three masks available per person “to ensure broad access for all Americans.”
“I know we all wish that we could finally be done with wearing masks. I get it," Biden said recently. "But there is a … they’re a really important tool to stop the spread, especially of the highly transmittable Omicron variant. So, please, please wear the mask."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance on masks for the general public on Friday, Jan. 14, saying people "may choose" to wear N95 and KN95 masks because they offer the best protection against the virus, but they did not officially recommend or mandate that people use them over cloth or other types of masks.
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