D.C. is giving out free KN95 masks to residents, and other protective respirators soon will be made available free for all Americans through a federal program.
Health officials emphasize that the N95s offer better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 compared to cloth face coverings.
So, what do you need to know about best practices?
“You want to make sure you use both headbands,” said Nikki Vars McCullough, vice president in the personal safety division of 3M. “One headband should be on the top of your head and one against your neck.”
For the best possible fit, you’ll need to adjust the N95’s metal clip appropriately over your nose.
“You want to form it really firmly with two hands down around your nose bridge. This helps make sure that air is going through the filter media and that you don’t have big leaks around the edges,” McCullough said.
A perfect fit means people’s eye glasses won’t fog.
“And that you are going to feel some resistance when you breathe, because you’re forcing the air in and out of that filter media, but you’ll get used to that feeling,” she assured.
It’s OK to reuse N95s as long as they don’t get too dirty or damaged. If the mask sags and straps become loose or break, for example, then it’s time to begin using a new one.
Between uses, N95s should be stored someplace clean and dry.
“You don’t want to put it in the oven or the microwave and please don’t spray any disinfectants on it. A brown paper bag is a great place to store your N95,” McCullough said.
N95s are versions approved by the U.S. government, while KN95s are the standards for China.
Very young children might find N95s are too big to form well to their faces.
The masks will be distributed at retail pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program such as CVS, Costco and Walgreens.
“Masks have begun to rollout to the first wave of stores and will continue to rollout into additional stores in the coming days and weeks,” the Walgreens website says. “We anticipate all participating stores will receive supply by mid-February.”
There are videos detailing best use practices for numbers of varieties of N95 masks that might become available on the 3M website.
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