As part of efforts to tackle the spread of COVID-19, President Joe Biden’s administration is set to distribute 25 million cloth masks starting from next month, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday.

“In the month of March, we will begin to deliver millions of masks to food banks and community health centres around the country,” he said, AFP reported.

“We will deliver more than 25 million masks across the country, these masks will be available in more than 1,300 community health centres, and 60,000 food pantries nationwide,” he added.

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Community health centres are outpatient clinics that serve under-resourced areas.

According to a statement, the masks will be high-quality washable cloth masks that are distributed for free.

“We really believe that this policy makes a lot of sense in that it allows, you know, people who are not able to in some situations find or afford a mask to get a mask,” said Zients.

According to the statement, two-thirds of the people served by these centres are living in poverty, 60% are racial minorities, and nearly 1.4 million are unhoused.

Recipients for the program, which costs $86 million, will be eligible to pick up two masks per person in their household.

The decision to proceed with cloth masks comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new studies finding that higher-calibre masks offer better protection for both the wearer and people around them.

According to the latest CDC guidance, wearing a cloth mask on top of a surgical mask is a good combination as it improves both the fit and filtration levels.

Meanwhile, Zients also announced that the Biden administration anticipates distributing at least three million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine should it receive emergency use authorisation (EUA).

“If an EUA is issued, we anticipate allocating three to four million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine next week,” he said.

“Johnson and Johnson have announced it aims to deliver a total of 20 million doses by the end of March,” he added.

If approved the J&J vaccine will become the third COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in the US. 

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, made in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is given in a single shot; the other two vaccines in use from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, require two doses, three to four weeks apart.

The Johnson & Johnson shot only requires basic refrigeration for storage.