WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration will start shipping 400 million free non-surgical N95 face masks to distribution sites nationwide this week as part of efforts to fight the surging omicron COVID-19 variant, according to the White House.
Americans will be able to pick up their masks at one of “tens of thousands” of pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, thousands of community centers, and other locations across the country beginning late next week, the White House said.
The move comes as the rise in omicron COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed hospitals across the country, leading to mounting criticism over Biden’s ability to contain the pandemic.
The White House expects the program to be fully up and running by early February.
