los Biden administration said Wednesday it would send more than 25 millones de mascarillas a los centros de salud comunitarios, food pantries and soup kitchens across the country in order to reach some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.
“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’re taking this important action to keep Americans safe,” Del presidente Joe Biden Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said at a White House briefing.
Starting in March, the Biden administration will deliver the masks to more than 1,300 community health centers as well as 60,000 food pantries and soup kitchens across the country. The White House says an estimated 12 a 15 million Americans will receive masks as a result of these efforts.
The masks will be “no cost, high-quality, washable and consistent with the mask guidance from the CDC,” according to the White House. “All of these masks will be made in America, and will not impact availability of masks for health care workers.”
Zients emphasized the targeting of the effort to Americans who may want wear masks but don’t have access.
“With this action, we are helping to level the playing field, giving vulnerable populations quality well-fitting masks,” Zients said.
Biden has repeatedly stressed the importance of wearing masks in public in order to minimize the spread of the virus. The President mandated wearing masks on federal property as soon as he took office, and masks are also now required on public transportation and in airports and transit stations.
Biden said Tuesday the White House would “probablemente” move to send face masks directly to Americans.
A plan to distribute masks to Americans was proposed by health officials during the Trump administration but blocked by Presidente Donald Trump, who resisted wearing masks in public for months, despite his own health officials stressing the importance of them in order to contain the coronavirus.
The US Postal Service had planned to distribute 650 million face coverings for the Trump administration last April, according to internal documents reviewed by CNN in September. A senior administration official told The Washington Post at the time that the plan was scrapped by the White House as some advisers were worried that it could create “concern or panic.”
