Workers make N95 respirators at the Protective Health gear in New Jersey.
A White House official said that President Joe Biden will make 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans at community health centers.
The program will be up and running by early February, according to the official. The White House said that the free masks are the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in US history.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that N95 respirators are more effective than cloth and surgical masks in preventing the transmission of the virus. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that wearing a mask is better than not wearing one.
The CDC warned that gaps in N95 masks can let respiratory droplets that carry virus particles in and out of the mask. The CDC has a factsheet that shows how N95s should be worn.
Everyone 2 years of age or older should wear a mask in public spaces regardless of their vaccine status, according to the CDC. The agency says that almost all of the US has the virus.
Federal law requires people to wear masks on public transportation.
Democrats in Congress want the Biden administration to give N95 masks to Americans for free as the highly contagious omicron Covid variant has swept the country, causing unprecedented levels of infections. The legislation has 50 cosponsors in the House and Senate.
The mass production and distribution of N95 masks is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the Covid virus.
N95 and surgical masks are 99% effective at blocking virus particles, while fabric masks are only 50% effective. The study was published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The Biden administration is giving away free Covid tests to American households. The Covid tests are available at www.covidtests.gov.
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