COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you travel across the city of Columbus, as we did Wednesday looking for N95 or KN95 masks, you’ll find that many stores don’t have them and have no idea when they will get their next shipment.
The search for these masks to better protect against the omicron variant comes as health experts are recommending people ditch their cloth masks.
Discount Drug Mart on Old State Road didn’t have the N95 or KN95 masks, nor did Target or Meijer on Sawmill Road
That wasn’t the case at Lowe’s on Lazelle Road. The store had both N95 and KN95 masks.
N95 masks are designed to filter up to 95% of particles, according to the CDC, and are approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The Department of Health and Human Services said as of Dec. 29, the U.S. has about 747 million N95 respirators,59 times pre-pandemic levels, in its inventory.
Theodore Allen, an associate professor of integrated systems and engineering at Ohio State, spoke to 10TV about the supply chain of masks
“I would think that, yes, disruption is always a problem and a big disruption like this will cause dislocations and frustrations in the order of weeks but in the order of months, it will be a relatively easy transition compared to say cars or computer chips,” Allen said.
Scouring the city looking for N95 or KN95 masks isn't possible for everyone, so many will buy them online instead. It's a good idea, but how do you know what you're buying isn't fraudulent?
Use these links to ensure your mask is not a fraud: