A White House proposal to mail masks to Americans may be aimed at schools or communities that are particularly vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus, rather than all American households, several senior administration officials said.
The Biden administration has been researching the logistics of shipping masks directly to all Americans for more than a week, and in recent days discussions have coalesced around the notion that a more targeted effort could be more effective, the officials said. officials.
Two officials said the administration could decide to send masks to both vulnerable communities and schools. One official said “vulnerable communities” include older people and areas with high rates of coronavirus infections.
No final decision has been made on whether to send masks to Americans or what the scope could be, officials said. The timing of a possible announcement has also not been set, authorities said.
The White House declined to comment.
The White House has faced criticism that its goal to reopen schools during President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office – at least one day a week of in-person learning – is not ambitious.
The nun, whose religious name is Sister André, is the second-oldest known living person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which validates the details of people believed to be 110 years old or older.
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also emphasizes the importance of wearing properly-fitting masks, including the suggestion to place cloth masks over medical masks.
The idea of mailing masks to American homes was explored and scrapped by the Trump administration. NBC News was the first to report last week that the Biden administration’s COVID-19 Response Team had revived the idea and was studying the logistics of mailing millions of face covers to US homes.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that “there are a variety of options under consideration on how to ensure that the people who need masks the most, the people who need these types of protection most, receive them.”
The governor assured that it is of the utmost importance that the Hispanic community have access to the vaccine.
However, the cost of any effort to distribute masks is unknown; Depending on how many masks the government plans to distribute, it could be hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Department of Health and Human Services in May signed $ 640 million in contracts with textile manufacturers, including Hanes, to make masks, according to federal purchasing records.
Biden has made wearing face masks a critical part of his coronavirus messaging campaign. He and his staff routinely cover their faces at the White House and when they appear in public. He issued a federal property mask mandate and has asked Americans to cover their faces during his first 100 days in office.
This story was first written by NBC News.