Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. government is making 400 million N95 non-surgical masks available to the public free of charge starting next week. This will be the latest initiative by the Biden administration to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials stated that the face masks would be sent to community health centers and pharmacies this week and will also be available for pick-up by late next week.

This decision comes as President Joe Biden was criticized for failing to do enough to encourage masking and bolster testing during the Omicron outbreak that raged throughout the nation.

The administration responded to criticisms and has offered free testing via its website, which was launched on Wednesday. It also announced that it will deploy masks from the Strategic Reserve.

The official stated that “This was the largest deployment personal protective equipment in U.S history.”

The official stated that the government leveraged the federal pharmacy program as well the federal community program to ensure easy access. “Free masks will be available in many convenient locations Americans trust, and they can also be accessed at healthcare centers.”

According to the official, masks will soon be in stock at more than tens of thousand of pharmacies as well as thousands of community centers. The supplies should also be on hand by next week. The program should be up and running in February.

N95 Masks that seal the mouth and nose are especially useful in stopping virus spread. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommended last week that Americans use the most protective mask they could.

Biden’s staff previously stated that the supply is sufficient to allow for sharing of the masks.

Although hospitals have made strides in recovering from N95 shortages during the pandemic’s early stages, executives at Reuters said that their supply chain is still fragile. They also warned that smaller and less-financed hospitals could be put at risk if Americans continue to use N95s as “everyday” protection.

Reuters reported that U.S. mask producers told Reuters that their machines can produce millions of N95s per month.