Free N95 Masks At Wayne Pharmacies? Not Quite Yet

WAYNE, NJ — Several Wayne pharmacies may receive free N95 masks from the federal government. But they haven't arrived yet.

The White House will ship 400 million N95 masks to pharmacies across the nation, which are available for all Americans. Customers and patients can pick up a maximum of three masks per person.

Some pharmacy chains planned to receive masks as early as last Friday. The free-N95 program will become fully operational by early February, according to President Joe Biden's administration.

Unfortunately for those most eager to find free N95s, many haven't arrived at stores as of Thursday afternoon.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed pharmacy chains that would receive masks. Patch checked with each of those businesses have a Wayne location and called each store Wednesday morning. At that time, none had received an initial K95 shipment yet.

Here's what to know:

Costco

Costco is on the list of pharmacies set to receive N95 masks, but the Wayne location hadn't received any.

The company hasn't publicly announced when or at which locations the masks might become available for free. Patch reached out to corporate and will update with any response.

CVS

If you call the CVS — any CVS — a voiceover will say that they don't have the government-issued K95s in stores yet.

"We will share more information on timing as we learn more," the voiceover says.

CVS expects masks to come "on a rolling basis as additional supply becomes available," the company told USA TODAY.

Walgreens

Employees cannot confirm inventory of the government-issued masks over the phone, a voiceover for the store said. Walgreens began its mask rollout and expects all participating stores to receive them by mid-February.

The company says it will frequently update its N95 mask program store locator as shipments arrive. But so far, the Wayne locations aren't listed.

However, two Walgreens stores in Paterson have received shipments of free N95s: 350 Preakness Ave. and 750 Main St.

The CDC updated its face-covering guidance Jan. 14, clearly stating that properly fitted N95 and KN95 masks offer the most protection against COVID-19. The agency has no concerns over supply shortages of N95s but clarified Friday that "surgical N95s" should be reserved for health care settings. Find more mask guidance here.

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