The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to U.S. residents starting next week. The step comes after federal officials emphasized the masks’ better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings. Mo Kharbat is the vice president of pharmacy services for SSM Health Wisconsin Region. “They should help big time,” Kharbat told WFDL news. “What we’ve learned about the Omicron variant is that it’s very, very contagious, and cloth masks may not offer the same level of protection that we get from surgical masks, and surgical masks are not as good as N95 masks,” Kharbat said. The White House said the masks will come from the government’s Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million of the highly protective masks on hand. The masks will be available for pickup at pharmacies and community health centers across the country. The White House says the masks will begin shipping this week for distribution starting late next week.
