White House Says Biden administration Decided To Distribute Free N95 Masks In America
The Biden administration decided to distribute 400 million N95 masks available to everyone in America for free. Now that federal officials emphasize their effectiveness in protecting against the omicron variant of COVID-19 compared to cloth face masks.
The White House announced that those N95 masks would come from the government’s Strategic National Stockpile. More than 750 million highly protective masks have currently on hand.
The White House said that it could pick up masks free of charge at pharmacies and community health centers across the country. They began shipping for distribution last week.
It will be the federal government’s largest distribution of free masks to the public since the covid-19 pandemic began.
In early 2020, then-President Donald Trump’s administration considered and then deferred plans to send masks to all Americans in their homes.
After facing mounting criticism over the inaccessibility, President Joe Biden administration embraced and decided the initiative, both in supply and cost, of N95 masks as the highly infectious omicron variant spread all over the country and planned to distribute to everyone as possible as.
Biden launched a website for Americans after facing similar criticism over winter shortages of home COVID-19 test kits to order four rapid tests to be shipped to their homes for free, with the first proofs sent at the end of this month.
The White House said the masks would be available at pharmacies and community health centers participating in the federal government’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
CDC updated its guidance on face coverings to clearly state that it properly fits N95, and KN95 masks are the most protection against COVID-19. Yet, it didn’t formally recommend N95s over cloth ones.
The White House said that three masks would be available per person to ensure broad access for all Americans.
