MILWAUKEE — The Biden administration’s promise to make 400 million N95 masks available for free nationwide is finally making its way to the Milwaukee area.
After weeks of waiting, local distributors, like Hayat Pharmacy, are already giving away their supply of N95 masks supplied to them by the federal government, making them available to anyone who walks through their doors.
Since getting their first delivery at the end of January, teams immediately started handing them out to people, becoming the first pharmacy in the city to do so.
In the last two weeks, Hayat Pharmacy tells TMJ4 they have distributed about 30,000 masks at all of their locations, which president Tamir Kaloti says is a sign of the massive need the community has for them.
“There has been a lot of demand for these free masks. They're flying off the shelf, and we encourage people to come in as soon as possible to get them,” said Kaloti. “We are letting every person who comes in to test or comes into the pharmacy, let them know what's available for themselves in order to stay healthy and protected.”
Hayat Pharmacy says that while it does not expect to receive an additional shipment from the government, it is partnering with the Milwaukee County Health Department to determine how to continue supplying these essential needs for our area’s residents.
As for other pharmacies, Walgreens sent TMJ4 a statement saying the first N95 mask shipments have begun arriving in warehouses and are being shipped to participating stores as soon as possible. While some stores have already started receiving them, it remains a rolling launch over the next days and weeks.