Free N95 Masks Not Yet Available In Parsippany Pharmacies

Josh Bakan
·2 min read

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Several Parsippany pharmacies plan to 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 to stores as of Wednesday morning.

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

Here's what to know:

CVS (3503 Route 46)

If you call the CVS on Route 46, a voiceover will say that CVS locations 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.

Rite Aid (480 N Beverwyck Rd., Lake Hiawatha)

Rite Aid in Lake Hiawatha had not received any free masks. Some Rite Aid stores have received K95s. But a company spokesperson said they'll become available in all stores by early February, according to TODAY.

ShopRite (808 Route 46 West, Parsippany)

The store has not received N95s yet, and the company has not indicated when they expect to receive them. But ShopRite is on the CDC's list of businesses that will receive free masks.

Walgreens (200 Baldwin Rd. Ste 200, Parsippany)

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 Parsippany location isn't one of them.

Wegmans (34 Sylvan Way, Parsippany)

Wegmans has not received any K95s, but the business is also on the CDC's list of pharmacies that will receive free masks.

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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This article originally appeared on the Parsippany Patch