Feds to distribute 25 million masks to food banks, community health centers
ATLANTA - COVID-19 vaccinations are beginning to pick up speed, with 65 million shots administered by Wednesday afternoon, and just under 20 million people receiving their second dose.
In Georgia, just under 628,000 people have been fully vaccinated.
Now, the US Government is distributing another tool to fight the virus: free face masks.
In March, 25 million masks will begin shipping to food banks and community health centers around the country.
White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients says the masks will be distributed to individuals in higher-risk communities.
"While masks are widely available in many different shapes and sizes, many low-income Americans still lack affordable access to this basic protection," Zients says.
The federal mask distribution, which will cost $86 million, will supply masks to 1,300 community health centers and 60,000 food banks serving communities hit hard by the pandemic.
"Any American who needs a mask will be able to walk into these health centers or food pantries and pick up high quality, American-made masks," Zients told reporters. "These mask will be available at no cost. They'll be well-fitting cloth masks available in children's and adult sizes, and they can be washed for reuse."
And, the National Institutes of Health is launching a major initiative to better understand one of the most puzzling mysteries of the pandemic: the phenomenon of COVID-19 "long-haulers."
That is a term used to describe people like Ava and Ziah McKinney-Taylor of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who believe they were infected and fought off the virus last spring, only to struggle for months with lingering fatigue, heart-racing, and brain fog and other complications.
"I don't even remember what it's like to not be exhausted anymore," Ava McKinney-Taylor says. "So, I'm just, like, is this going to continue? Am I always going to be exhausted for the rest of my life?"
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the senior medical advisor to the President, says long COVID symptoms typically appear after the body clears the virus and can range from annoying and mild to incapacitating.
"The symptoms of this include fatigue, shortness of breath, sleep disorders, fevers, GI symptoms, anxiety and depression, and what some have been referring to as brain fog, or an inability or difficulty in concentrating or focusing," Fauci explains.
He noted a recent University of Washington study of long COVID.
"It was found really now something alarming: that approximately 30% of the patients who are enrolled at the University of Washington reported persistent symptoms for as long as 9 months after illness. Fatigue was the most common symptom, and persistent symptoms were reported by one third of outpatients with mild illness."
The NIH research initiative will try to answer key questions about long-COVID, such as how many people continue to have lingering symptoms, and what makes certain people vulnerable to persistent symptoms, while others recovery quickly.
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