As loose Covid-19 tests reach the mailboxes of the other people who ordered them, the first loose N95 masks for the public began arriving at U. S. pharmacies. More on the way in the coming days.

Biden’s management is trying to improve the high-quality mask amid the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Meanwhile, the loose tests began shipping last week and are part of management’s efforts to prepare for testing in the United States.

The masks are already ready for distribution at Hy-Vee and Meijer grocery outlets in the Midwest, with more expected at Southeastern Grocers retail outlets later this week.

“Last week, the mask started shipping and reaching pharmacies and grocery stores across (the) country. We expect that the week, the number of retail outlets and N95s arriving will increase significantly,” a management official told CNN on Monday.

Biden’s management announced last week that the 400 million N95 masks, which come from the National Strategic Reserve, will be distributed to pharmacies and fitness centers in the network, with the program expected to be fully operational by early February. The masks arrive at their destination with leaflets and symptoms from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which paid for the mask.

“Put on a mask and maximize your protection,” the flyers say, encouraging Americans to “help slow the spread of Covid by protecting themselves and those around them. “

The brochure, which is distributed in English and Spanish, notes that up to 3 of the loose masks are “available in the United States. “It directs other people to cdc. gov/coronavirus and includes a QR code with commands on how to put on and take off the mask well.

The mask is being rolled out just as some in the U. S. U. S. Agencies are receiving packages from the U. S. Postal Service. U. S. U. S. tests containing loose Covid-19 antigen tests they have ordered.

Gourjoine Wade of San Antonio, Texas, told CNN she ordered the tests the day covidtests. gov got underway last week. I wanted to have them on hand and ready for when they were needed.

“It’s another tool in the toolbox to keep me safe, my circle of family and our community,” Wade said.

Some of the first masks arrived in the Midwest on Friday, adding Hy-Vee grocery stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Meijer retail stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. . and Wisconsin.

The mask will also begin arriving at Southeastern Grocers outlets starting Friday, the official added, and will be available at In-store Fresco and Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie pharmacies.

Mills Civic Hy-Vee in West Des Moines, Iowa, won the mask Friday, along with nearly 150 other Hy-Vee locations. Photos provided through the store show workers distributing the packaged mask packages, with flyers placed nearby for consumers to take home.

“I can verify that we began receiving and distributing our first shipments of N95 masks from HHS on Friday, January 21. Currently, many Hy-Vee pharmacies have won and are distributing their mask allowances. All 275 Hy-Vee pharmacies in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin will have face coverings through midweek,” Christina Gayman, a spokeswoman for Hy-Vee, Inc. , wrote in an email to CNN on Monday.

“We have gained a lot of positive feedback from consumers who are satisfied that we have the mask and we are distributing them so fast. We still have masks in each and every position that has won them so far,” Gayman added.

In Meijer stores, masks will be placed on tables near store entrances and distributed through receptionists. Meijer showed CNN on Monday that she has won “about 3 million masks” that will be made available free of charge to any visitor who wants them. .

CVS pharmacies are also expected to obtain and begin distributing loose N95 masks in the coming weeks as the federal government arrives, spokesman Matt Blanchette told CNN in an email Monday.

Walgreens expects the loose N95 mask to be available at select locations starting Friday, according to a company spokesperson.

“We are excited to partner with management to make N95 masks of low-priced sizes at attractive Walgreens locations for the duration of the materials,” a Walgreens spokesperson wrote in an email to CNN on Monday.

“Clients and patients can retrieve a maximum of 3 masks according to time,” the email read. “We expect the first retail outlets to start providing masks on Friday, January 28 and continue non-stop in the days. and following weeks. The participating points of sale will have posters indicating the availability of a mask. “

The first hundred fitness centers in the network that will participate in the launch of the federal government’s N95 loose mask program will also begin this week, Amy Simmons Farber, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Community Health Centers, wrote in an email to CNN on Monday. The Health Resources and Services Administration or HRSA oversees the Community Health Centers program for the federal government and notes that the HRSA Health Center’s N95 COVID-19 mask program will begin gradually, offering N95 masks to between one hundred and two hundred fitness centers in the initial phase.

“These gyms are expected to obtain and begin distributing masks before the end of January 2022,” according to HRSA. Farber added that through mid-February, HRSA expects masks to be available in all gyms.

“For now, the program is limited to about three hundred gyms in the network to ensure the logistics of receiving, storing and distributing masks. We understand that the program will be expanded to include more gyms as part of the Biden administration’s efforts. to make certain underserved communities have equitable fitness tools for the public,” Farber wrote in the email.

“We understand that those who opt for gyms will get the mask until the end of January,” Farber wrote. “Each individual gym will need time to expand a distribution plan and a patient notification procedure. If you’re a patient, check your local gym’s online page for ads. Keep in mind that peak health care systems are at full capacity and staff are exhausted due to the pandemic, and gyms are no exception. Try to avoid overwhelming call centers for now.

This deployment of loose masks has been the federal government’s “largest deployment” to date.

“This effort represents the largest deployment of the Strategic National Reserve to date and is also the largest deployment of non-public apparatus in U. S. history. Dawn O’Connell, HHS’s undersecretary of preparedness and reaction, wrote in a blog post Friday. .

The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionUU. no plan to replace their rules on wearing masks, as the administration rushes to wear those masks.

The CDC recommends that U. S. citizens wear well-fitting masks, which can come with layers of cloth masks, N95 or K95.

“Wearing masks is an imperative fitness tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it’s important to remember that any mask is better than none,” the CDC said in a statement earlier this month.

“Some masks and respirators offer higher degrees of coverage than others, and some might be harder to tolerate or wear consistently than others,” the CDC rules say. comfortable for you and offers smart coverage. “

By having greater fabric compatibility and safe fabrics, such as polypropylene fibers, which act as mechanical and electrostatic barriers, the N95 mask helps prevent small debris from entering the nose or mouth and must fit the face to serve as appropriate.

“The CDC continues to argue that any mask is better than none. And we inspire all Americans to wear a mask that fits them well and prevent the spread of COVID-19,” CDC Director Dr. Susan S. Brown told reporters. Rochelle Walensky. a previous briefing this month. ” And this advice is not going to change. “

El-CNN-Wire™