Biden to make 25 million masks available to health centers, food pantries
President Joe Biden‘s covid response team announced Wednesday it would distribute more than 25 million masks to Americans at community health centers and food banks.
“While masks are widely available in many different shapes and sizes, many low-income Americans still lack affordable access to this basic protection. That’s why we are taking this important action to keep Americans safe,” Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said at a White House briefing.
According to the White House, masks will be “no-cost, high-quality, washable and consistent with the mask guidance from the CDC” All of these masks will be made in America.
Starting in March, the Biden administration will set up facilities to deliver the masks to more than 1,300 community health centers, 60,000 food pantries, and soup kitchens across the country.
Biden has repeatedly emphasized the importance of wearing masks in public to curb the spread of the virus. The President mandated wearing masks on federal property and now it is also required on public transportation and in airports and transit stations.
A plan was proposed during Trump Administration to distribute masks to Americans by the health officials but was blocked by former President Donald Trump, who resisted wearing masks in public for months.
During a town hall with African American frontline workers Tuesday, Biden said, ” We could have saved literally an awful lot of lives if people had listened. We turned wearing masks into a political statement.”
The Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the Department of Defense will deliver the masks. As a result, an estimated 12 to 15 Americans will receive masks, the administration said.
