COVID-19 Update

WaPo: (freebie)

Free N95 masks now available at some U.S. pharmacies; wider rollout expected soon

Free N95 masks are now available at some U.S. stores as part of the White House’s plan to hand out 400 million of them from the Strategic National Stockpile.

Midwest grocer Meijer said Monday that it has received some 3 million N95 masks from the Health and Human Services Department and will hand out boxed sets of three to customers who want them. Another Midwest supermarket chain, Hy-Vee, said in a tweet that its pharmacies are now offering free N95 masks, as well.

Other major chains are expected to start giving out masks later this week. Walgreens spokeswoman Alex Brown said she expects the first stores to begin offering the masks Friday. Three free N95 masks will be available for each adult, federal officials said.

In preparation for the rollout, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month provided its most explicit guidance on the protection afforded by different types of masks. Well-fitting N95 masks, it says, “offer the highest level of protection.”

Here’s what to know

• Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, have begun testing a vaccine tailored to battle the omicron variant of the coronavirus, the companies announced Tuesday.
• British police said Tuesday they would begin investigating parties held at 10 Downing Street during coronavirus lockdowns. The development puts further pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a British news outlet reported two more social gatherings, including one to celebrate his birthday.
• A UNICEF report released Sunday indicated that more than 616 million children around the world are still affected by covid-induced disruptions to their education, as school systems grapple with whether, and for how long, to close schools again amid omicron surges.
• The Food and Drug Administration removed two monoclonal antibody therapies from the list of covid-19 treatments for now, announcing that they’re ineffective against the omicron variant.