The Biden administration is reportedly discussing the possibility of sending masks through the United States Postal Service (USPS) to every household in the country, in an effort to promote mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic.
No formal decision has been made on what, if any, action the Biden administration will take, though the matter has been discussed during multiple meetings at the White House.
Details remain unclear, such as the material the masks might be made out of, how many masks each household would be sent, or when they would be distributed.
“There are a range of options on the table to help protect more Americans from the coronavirus and encourage people to mask up, but no decision has been made,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement to NBC News.
The emphasis on wearing masks in the Biden White House is a stark departure from the previous administration. President Joe Biden has asked for every American to wear a mask during his first 100 days in office in order to stem the spread of coronavirus. The president has also issued a number of executive orders on masks, including a requirement for individuals to wear them on all federal properties.
And while aides in the Trump White House were often seen without wearing masks of any kind, every employee is required to wear a mask while inside the West Wing under Biden’s watch.
The USPS had drafted similar plans for distributing masks by mail in 2020, but the Trump administration scrapped the idea, basing its decision on not wanting to cause alarm among the populace.
“There was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,” a Trump official told The Washington Post in September 2020.
Information about the scrapped plan was discovered after a Freedom of Information Act request was made by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group. After learning about the administration’s refusal to push forward with the idea, the organization decried the decision as antithetical to the known science and efficacy of wearing masks to combat coronavirus.
“The Postal Service connects every single person in America, and [President Donald Trump] could have used it for public health, but he didn’t,” American Oversight Executive Director Austin Evers said at the time. “An opportunity to deliver science-based public health tools to every person in the country was lost.”
Masks are one of the most effective means of preventing the spread of coronavirus. A health model produced by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington demonstrates that masks and facial coverings will continue to be an important tool to keep people healthy, and to save lives.
According to IHME, if everyone in the country wore masks between now and May 1, there would be close to 90,000 fewer deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. The health model also projects that widespread mask-wearing would half the daily death count from the virus over the same period.
The current 7-day average of new daily deaths from coronavirus in the U.S. currently sits at 3,054 deaths per day. As of Thursday, more than 26.5 million Americans have tested positive for the virus, and more than 450,000 have died from it since the start of the pandemic.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
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