The White House announced Wednesday that 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. They will begin shipping this week for distribution starting late next week, the White House said.
This will be the largest distribution of free masks by the federal government to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In early 2020, then-President Donald Trump's administration considered and then shelved plans to send masks to people at their homes. President Joe Biden embraced the initiative after facing mounting criticism this month over the inaccessibility — both in supply and cost — of N95 masks as the highly transmissible omicron variant swept across the country.
After facing similar criticism over a winter shortage of COVID-19 at-home test kits, Biden this week launched a website for Americans to order four rapid tests to be shipped to their homes for free, with the first tests to ship later this month.
The White House said the masks will be made available at pharmacies and community health centers that have partnered with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its guidance on face coverings to more clearly state that properly fitted N95 and KN95 masks offer the most protection against COVID-19. Still, it didn't formally recommend N95s over cloth masks.
The best mask “is the one that you will wear and the one you can keep on all day long, that you can tolerate in public indoor settings,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week.
Details were not immediately available on the specifics of the program, including the sort of masks to be provided, whether kid-size ones will be available and whether the masks could be reworn.
The White House said that “to ensure broad access for all Americans, there will be three masks available per person.”
N95 or KN95 masks are more widely available now than at any other time during the pandemic, though they are often more costly than less-protective surgical masks or cloth masks.
Democrats are hoping to pass the Build Back Better Infrastructure Bill this week, but fellow Democrat Senator Joe Manchin has proven to be a steady fast hold out, stating that he will not support a multi-trillion dollar bill without greater clarity. U.S. News and World Reports Political Reporter Lisa Hagen joined Cheddar to discuss the future of the bill.
Carlo and Baker discuss the election results across the country, including a Republican comeback in Virginia -- and possibly NJ -- plus the CDC gives the go-ahead for child vaccinations, Atlanta wins the World Series and more.
David Wagner, Portfolio Manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why we continue to see record closes from the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq, and breaks down figures from Lyft's Q3 earnings report.
Voters across the country are heading to the polls today for Election Day. The results of some key races could signal what we can expect in upcoming elections. In Virginia, Democrat Terry McAuliffe is facing off against Republican Glenn Youngkin for governor in a tight race. The race has both parties watching because it's a big indicator of how voters are leaning ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins Cheddar News to talk about what's in store for the state.
Laura Vozzella, local reporter for The Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to discuss the close gubernatorial race in Virginia and what voters are looking for in each candidate.
The U.S. Supreme Court takes a closer look at the Texas abortion law that was designed by its sponsors to evade constitutional review in federal court. Katie Barlow, journalist and social media editor at SCOTUSblog joins Cheddar News to breakdown what was discussed.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
With COP26 kicking off, roughly 120 world leaders and delegates are in Glasgow, Scotland to hold climate talks this week. As experts continue to warn about the dangers of climate change, ESG investing is more important than ever.
Georges Archibald, Head of Apex Americas at Apex Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden expected to unveil details on a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for businesses in coming days.
This comes just days after The White House issued separate vaccine mandates for federal contractors across the country. Mark Kluger, Founding Partner, employment law firm Kluger Healey joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
