According to a White House official, President Joe Biden will make 400 million highly protective N95 masks accessible to Americans for free at pharmacies and community health centres around the country.
The masks will be ready late next week, according to the official, and the programme will be completely operational by early February. The free shows represent the greatest deployment of personal protection equipment in US history, according to the White House.
N95 respirators are more successful at preventing virus transmission than fabric and surgical masks, according to new recommendations released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, however, has stated that wearing any mask is preferable to wearing none at all.
According to the CDC, N95 masks must form a seal on the face in order to function correctly, and holes can allow virus particles to enter and exit the display. A leaflet from the CDC demonstrates how N95s should be worn.
In locations with considerable or high levels of viral transmission, the CDC recommends that everyone two years of age and older, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside in public settings. According to the CDC, the virus is currently being transmitted in practically every county in the United States.
On flights, buses, trains, and other types of public transportation, people are compelled by law to wear masks.
As the extremely dangerous omicron Covid variant has overrun the country, causing historic infection levels, Democrats in Congress are pressuring the Biden administration to supply N95 masks to Americans for free. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed legislation last week to provide three N95 masks to every American. In the House and Senate, the bill has 50 cosponsors.
“Congress demands the mass production and distribution of N95 masks, one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the Covid virus,” Sanders said in a statement.
Fabric masks are at least 50% efficient in filtering virus particles, according to Australian researchers, whereas N95 and surgical masks are 99 percent effective. In September 2020, the findings will be published in the peer-reviewed journal Pathogens.
The Biden administration is interfering with Americans’ access to free Covid testing at home. At www.covidtests.gov, each household may request four Covid tests.
