N95 masks

How often you can safely wear an N95 or KN95 mask will depend on how it’s used. Here’s what you need to know and how to get a free one now.

Pharmacies and health centers around the country have begun distributing the first of the 400 million N95 masks the White House is sending out to combat the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19.

The surge of the omicron variant of COVID-19 created more interest in filtered masks – so here’s what you need to know.

The Biden administration will make 400 million N95 masks from the Strategic National Stockpile available for free to Americans starting next week

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance, saying that N95 masks offer the highest protection.

The CDC on Friday updated its guidance on masks for the general public, now saying that people “may choose” to wear N95 and KN95 masks because they offer the best protection against COVID-19.

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the Department of Homeland Security has seized over 11 million counterfeit N95 masks in its ongoing fight to protect frontline health care workers

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of N95 respirator masks presented a dire situation for the healthcare and frontline workers who needed them most. Essential workers who relied on N95 masks had no choice but to wear what were meant to be disposable N95 masks for weeks at a time. Some started disinfecting the masks to be...

The personal protective gear that was in dangerously short supply during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. is running low again

A Georgia man has been charged in federal court with trying to swindle a foreign government out of $317 million in exchange for a huge shipment of masks to protect against the coronavirus that didn’t really exist.

U.S. Immunologist Dr. Rick Bright discusses his attempts to get the Trump administration to secure more N95.

Mask decontamination for first responders is being used for sheriff’s employees. Beverly White reported on NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2020.

The doctor worked with the engineer who invented the masks, finding health care workers can boil or steam them in a pinch until more masks are made. Carolyn Johnson reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2020.

At least 10 nurses are heading back to the COVID-19 ward this week after being suspended for demanding protective respirator masks, the National Nurses United union said Tuesday. Their Southern California hospital has reinstated them and is now supplying the N95 masks to nurses working with infected patients. Last week, the Associated Press reported that nurses at Providence Saint John’s Health...

A major California labor union that claimed to have discovered a stockpile of 39 million masks for health care workers fighting the coronavirus was duped in an elaborate scam uncovered by FBI investigators, according to a newspaper report Sunday. Investigators stumbled onto the scheme while looking into whether they could intercept the masks for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under…

Nurses at a Santa Monica hospital demanded Saturday that they receive higher-quality masks while they treat coronavirus patients, with some being placed on leave for refusing to work without the equipment. The nurses who protested outside Providence St. John’s Health Center said its administration has not provided information about its supply of protective equipment. In particular, they say the...

Nurses are protesting after they claim nurses were put on leave after they protested the hospital was not doing enough to protect them during the Coronavirus Pandmeic. Christine Kim reports for Today in LA on Saturday, April 11, 2020.

The city, which has been seeing higher coronavirus numbers than neighboring cities, will impose a $1,000 fine from those who do not wear masks. Ted Chen reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

The Carson City Council Tuesday approved a directive mandating residents and visitors wear a face mask covering their nose and mouth when going outside. However, the city council did not approve the proposed $1,000 fine. “By ordering it and mandating it and imposing a fine on those who do not, we’re hoping to lower the curve,” Carson Mayor Albert Robles…

People must wear masks in the city of Carson, and those who don’t may face fines. Toni Guinyard reports for the NBC4 News at 11 a.m. April 7, 2020.