VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has emphasized the importance of wearing masks. Recently, officials said N95 and KN95 masks are the best options.
Now, the Biden administration is giving the masks out to pharmacies for free. For Kroger customer Isabelle Moncada, many of her family members have waited for the masks to get to pharmacies.
“A lot of my elders I know they’ve been waiting for it especially if they want to go out they really want that security of not having to worry about going out and getting sick," said Moncada.
Many of the pharmacies that are part of the federal COVID-19 program will get the N95 or KN95 masks this week.
Those pharmacies include Kroger, Walgreens, and CVS. CVS representatives said its shipment of free N95 masks is expected to arrive sometime Thursday. But, they are unsure which stores will get them first.
Walgreens said stores plan to have masks in some locations by Friday and signs will be in front of the stores indicating if they have them.
According to the program, three masks will be available per person for free.
On Thursday, Virginia Department of Health officials said local health departments are not part of the federal program and will not have free masks to give out.
The Health Resources and Services Administration has a list of initial community health centers participating in the program. On the website, it shows only one center in Virginia is part of the program and that's in Alexandria.