Local Pharmacies to Carry Free N95 Masks

Local residents will be able to get free N95 masks next thanks to a move by President Joe Biden to make 400 million of the masks available for free at pharmacies and community health centers.

According to the Wall Street Journal the masks will be coming from the Strategic National Stockpile, the national repository of critical medical supplies. The program will be fully up and running by early February.

The masks are being distributed as part of the effort to combat COVID-19 and the highly contagious Omicron variant which is surging across the nation.

On Thursday, health officials in Los Angeles County reported 102 new COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily number since last March. The county is also reporting 42,115 new cases.

Pasadena reported Wednesday that new COVID-19 cases averaged over 410 per day.

The city also said that younger people are getting sick more than previously.

Meanwhile Huntington Hospital reported 119 patients fighting the virus. The number of COVID patients in the ICU stood at 14.

Three masks will be available per person, according to the official, and most of the pharmacies that are part of the federal pharmacy vaccine program will distribute the masks.

Several local pharmacies are part of the program including local CVS pharmacies.

A White House official called it, “the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.”

The CDC updated its mask guidance on Jan. 14, saying that properly fitting N95 masks offer the “highest level of protection.”