Rigorous International Study of N95 Masks Upends Federal COVID Narrative

The CDC took nearly two years to formally recognize distinctions between masks for mitigating COVID-19 spread, finally saying in January that cloth masks offer “the least” protection and N95 respirators, which meet strict federal standards, “the highest.”

The agency’s slight nod to the largely symbolic value of cloth masks, predominantly worn in school settings, followed months of calls by onetime White House COVID advisers, among others, to promote masks actually designed to stop aerosolized transmission. It also spurred a run on N95s, sending prices skyward.

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White House Says It Will Make 400 Million N95 Masks Available to Americans for Free

The Biden administration said Wednesday it is making 400 million N95 masks available free to the American public to protect against COVID-19 infection.

President Biden is expected to formally announce the initiative in a White House press conference related to his first year in office.

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