How to get free masks from government at CVS, Costco, Kroger

On Jan 28, 2022

CVS said free N95 masks are expected to arrive in its stores as early as Thursday including at CVS pharmacies inside Target stores.
Walgreens said it will have N95 masks at participating locations starting as early as Friday, Jan. 28.
Walmart expects to start its free N95 mask distribution by the second week of February at stores and Sam’s Club locations.

As the government sends free COVID tests to households across the nation, 400 million free masks are also on their way.

Unlike the free testing kits which are ordered through a government website or hotline and shipped by the United States Postal Service, the free N95 masks will be available to pick up at “tens of thousands” of pharmacies and community health centers that have partnered with the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

While the White House said the masks would be available for distribution starting this week, specific dates for all stores and locations are not yet available.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Friday it was the “largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.”

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“We’ve already shipped millions of these masks out. And across the coming days, masks will begin to be available at local pharmacies and community health centers across the country,” Zients said.

Mask distribution has already started at Meijer and Hy-Vee stores and is expected at Walgreens later in the week.

The masks will come from the country’s Strategic National Stockpile, which has tripled its supply of N95 masks to 750 million in the year since Biden took office. The White House has faced increasing pressure to make more protective masks available to the public rather than less protective cloth versions.

The free masks are in addition to 30 million masks the Biden administration distributed to food banks and community health centers last year and 23.5 million masks and respirators sent to states. On his first day in office, Biden took action to require masks be worn in federal buildings, airplanes and trains, and he’s called on Americans to continue wearing masks in all public indoor settings.