Retail stores issue free N95 masks at some locations starting Friday

OAKLAND, Calif. - Walgreens is one of several chain stores expected to hand out free N95 masks from the Biden administration starting Friday. There is a limit of three masks per person. 

The drug-store retailer said participating stores will have signs up once the masks are available. Rival drug store Rite Aid said they will also have free masks and that more will be offered on a rolling basis over the next two weeks as they are delivered. 

Walmart, Safeway, CVS and other pharmacies are also expecting shipments in the next week. The process to pick up the masks will vary from store to store. 

Walgreens has provided a list of stores where free masks of varying sizes will be shipped in the "first wave." They expect all participating stores to receive shipments by mid-February. It should be noted that California stores are not included in the first wave of shipments.  

Now that the general advice from medical experts is to upgrade your mask to an N95 or KN95, instead of cloth masks, the Biden administration has pledged to make 400 million respirator masks available for free. 

This is in addition to last month's announcement of free COVID antigen tests made available through the U.S. Postal Service, also from the Biden administration.