President Joe Biden will distribute 400 million free N95 masks beginning next week — halving the nation’s strategic stockpile.
An unnamed White House official told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/n95-masks-biden-administration-covid-19/index.html">CNN</a> that the initiative will hand out the masks at pharmacies and other health centers.
&#8220;This is the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in US history,&#8221; the official explained. &#8220;To ensure broad access for all Americans, there will be three masks available per person. In addition to this program, thanks to the administration&#8217;s efforts, these high-quality masks are in ample supply and widely available to American consumers.”
CNN added:
<blockquote>The 400 million non-surgical N95 masks amount to more than half of the 750 million stored in the US&#8217; Strategic National Stockpile, a figure that tripled over the last year as the White House sought to boost reserves. The US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recently advised that well-fitting respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety &amp; Health — such as N95 masks — offer &#8220;the highest level of protection&#8221; against Covid-19.
The administration&#8217;s step comes as the US grapples with an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases. An average of more than 750,000 new Covid-19 infections were reported every day over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data.</blockquote>
Indeed, federal health officials and lawmakers have been pushing for the adoption of more sturdy masks — such as N95s — over cloth face coverings.
For instance, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-sanders-congress-must-demand-the-mass-production-and-distribution-of-n95-masks">proposed</a> the “Masks For All Act” to manufacture and mail N95 masks to all households. Co-sponsored by lawmakers such as Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the law would allocate $5 billion toward sending three masks to every American.
“As we face the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, we should remember that not all face masks are created equal,” Sanders explained in a <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-reintroduces-legislation-to-give-every-american-lifesaving-n95-masks/">statement</a>. “Congress must demand the mass production and distribution of N95 masks, one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the Covid virus.”
“It is an absolute scandal that in the richest country in the history of the world, high-quality masks are not more readily available to frontline workers, health care workers, and all Americans,” he continued. “We are proposing that we do what our public health experts and scientists say we must do: provide all of our people with high-quality, N95 masks without cost, which could prevent death and suffering and save huge amounts of health care dollars.”
Beyond face masks, a major shift in federal COVID-19 policy occurred as the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-the-edge-of-a-cliff-trucking-industry-leader-says-rewarding-people-not-to-work-vaccine-mandates-are-worsening-supply-chain">ruled</a> against the Biden administration’s vaccine and testing mandate — thanks in part to a lawsuit filed by The Daily Wire.
“It’s a tremendous day for the American people and for the founding idea that this is a limited government of enumerated powers, which exists to protect, not erode, the God-given freedoms of the people,” Daily Wire Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said after the ruling. “This spells all but certain doom for OSHA’s unimaginable overreach into the private health decisions of some 85 million Americans whose only crime is having a job at a company with more than 100 employees.”
“Drink their tears, my friends, and enjoy your freedom. By the grace of God, you still have it.”

President Biden Attends Special Caucus Meeting With Senate Democrats

Biden Administration To Drain Strategic Stockpile, Hand Out 400 Million Free N95 Masks

Biden Administration

Face Masks

You&#8217;ve seen them out there. People are driving around in their cars wearing protective face masks – sometimes even when they&#8217;re alone in the car.
Note to those motorists: Maybe not a good call.
A driver in Lincoln Park, NJ, crashed their car into a pole while wearing an N95 mask, which may have restricted their oxygen intake, causing them to pass out, suggested the Lincoln Park Police Department before later amending their statement.
&#8220;The crash is believed to have resulted from the driver wearing an N95 mask for several hours and subsequently passing out behind the wheel due to insufficient oxygen intake/excessive carbon dioxide intake,&#8221; according to a Lincoln Park Police Department (LPPD) statement on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LincolnParkPoliceDepartment/posts/1171691036506303" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>.
&#8220;Motorists and the public alike are reminded that while masks should be used in public settings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, they are not necessary outdoors when social distancing can be maintained, and especially not necessary when driving a vehicle with no additional occupants,&#8221; the LPPD said.
After the story went viral, the police department amended its original post.
&#8220;Considering the overwhelming response this post has received, the following should be said. NJ residents should absolutely continue to follow the directives regarding face coverings put in place by our Governor. As it relates to this specific incident, we reiterate that police officers are not physicians and do not know the medical history of every person we encounter,&#8221; the LPPD wrote.
&#8220;We conduct accident scene investigations using training, experience and observations at the scene to determine a cause,” said the LPPD. “It was stated in the original post that we &#8216;believed&#8217; the excessive wearing of an N95 mask was a contributing factor to this accident. While we don&#8217;t know this with 100% certainty, we do know that the driver had been wearing an N95 mask inside the vehicle for several hours and ultimately passed out while operating the vehicle.”
&#8220;We also know that nothing was uncovered at the accident scene that would suggest that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. All this being said, it is certainly possible that some other medical reason could&#8217;ve contributed to the driver passing out. We are not trying to cause public alarm or suggest wearing an N95 mask is unsafe. The original point of the post was to state that in most cases, the wearing of this type of mask while operating a vehicle with no other occupants is unnecessary,&#8221; the LPPD said.
The name of the driver was not released, nor his or her condition after the accident.
As you no doubt know by now, wearing a mask does make breathing a bit more difficult.
“A person wearing any kind of mask faces breathing resistance as air filters through the device, making the wearer work harder to inhale than he would without the mask,&#8221; Akshita Nagpal wrote in a <a href="https://scroll.in/pulse/860276/no-good-choices-a-mask-may-block-out-some-pollution-but-have-other-ill-health-effects?fbclid=IwAR1iBNRKTWg_6Vct9hLon9byVaZwffB_gIvlwLDtJO-gQd7x0NQVxnU3xec">Scroll piece</a> about masks.
“This can have several adverse physiological effects when the mask is worn for long periods of time,” she wrote. “Moreover, carbon dioxide that is exhaled can get trapped in the chamber of the mask the re-enter the body each time the mask user inhales. This delivers less oxygen into the body than when the person is not wearing a mask.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">subscriber</a>.

N95 Mask

Police Suggest Driver Who Crashed While Wearing N95 Mask Might Have Passed Out

COVID

A semi-truck sporting the New England Patriots logo has delivered 300,000 N95 respirator masks to New York City, a charitable move negotiated between Jonathan Kraft, the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA). 
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-million-n95-masks-are-coming-from-chinaon-board-the-new-england-patriots-plane-11585821600">The Wall Street Journal</a>, the Massachusetts government solicited the help of Jonathan Kraft, who is the president of the Patriots and chairman of the board at Massachusetts General Hospital, to obtain an order of 2 million N95 masks from China. 
The final arrangement involved sending the Patriots’ Boeing 767 airliner to China and retrieving the masks, and bringing them back to the United States. As part of the deal with Massachusetts, the Kraft family agreed to pay the $2 million cost of delivery, reports the news agency. 
“We happened to have a little plane that we use for our team that was idle,” Robert Kraft told CNN on Thursday evening, reports <a href="https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2020/04/03/robert-kraft-masks-coronavirus">Boston</a>. “This probably was the most challenging operation our organization and team ever had to do.”
“I’ve never seen so much red tape in so many ways, and obstacles that we had to overcome,” said Robert Kraft. “In today’s world, those of us who are fortunate to make a difference have a significant responsibility to do so with all the assets we have available to us.”
In response to the act of kindness, The New York Post published a remarkable <a href="https://nypost.com/cover/covers-for-saturday-april-4-2020/">front page story</a> lauding the move, with a caption reading “Something we thought we’d never say&#8230;THANK YOU, PATS.”
<blockquote>It took a global pandemic to finally put Jets and Patriots fans on the same team.
A tractor-trailer emblazoned with the New England NFL squad’s name rolled into enemy territory Friday on a mission of mercy, as it pulled up to the Javits Center to drop off a huge supply of N95 respirator masks that were purchased from China by the franchise’s owner.
“We’re all in this together. Headed to New York with hope, love and 300,000 masks for healthcare workers,” the Patriots wrote on their official Instagram page.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The New England Patriots delivered 300K face masks to NYC for coronavirus relief <a href="https://t.co/s0g1ynWGmx">https://t.co/s0g1ynWGmx</a> <a href="https://t.co/c8IUp0Zr8i">pic.twitter.com/c8IUp0Zr8i</a>
— New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1246382280769187842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
Robert Kraft recently told NBC-TV that he actually has a fondness for New York City, despite the Patriots’ rival affiliation with the city, according to a column in <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/patriots-robert-krafts-coronavirus-generosity-makes-him-new-york-family/">the Post</a>. 
“I personally have a deep affection for all the citizens of New York City,’’ said Robert Kraft. “I just thought it might be cool if the owner of the New England Patriots is doing whatever he can to help Jets and Giants. This is a gift of ours, these 300,000 masks and the transportation, to the people of New York.’’
In the column, sports writer Mark Cannizzaro wrote that the act of kindness has made Robert Kraft a member of the New York family, possibly forever. 
<blockquote>A lot has happened over the years between Kraft and the Jets. None of it friendly.
Today, though, rivalries be damned. No more Border War. Everyone is playing for the same team now.
Feelings of jealousy must be replaced by genuine gratitude toward a man we’ve become so accustomed to view as the enemy.
Today, until further notice — and maybe forever — Robert Kraft is family.</blockquote>

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N95

Biden Administration To Drain Strategic Stockpile, Hand Out 400 Million Free N95 Masks

Police Suggest Driver Who Crashed While Wearing N95 Mask Might Have Passed Out

New England Patriots Semi-Truck Delivers 300,000 N95 Masks To New York City