Virus: Why no public N95 mask distribution?

Washington state has stockpiled enough N95s to mask to supply every health worker in the state with 100 masks each, according to a recent story in The Seattle Times.

This is in addition to the N95s that hospitals and medical facilities already have in their own stockpiles. They have over 30 million masks.

The state is considering what to do with its stockpile, since these masks aren’t being requested or distributed for a variety of reasons.

My question is, why aren’t they being offered to people in the state at the most risk? It would seem that if the general public had access to N95s and wore them, we could stop the onslaught of patients before they get sick.

Wouldn’t that protect health care workers the most? It would seem, after 10 months, that we should all be able to get N95s.

This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Virus: Why no public N95 mask distribution?."