Page 18 • February 3, 2022 • Edmond Life & Leisure
Free N95 masks handed out The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is working to make sure Oklahomans have widely available access to N95 masks in the state. In partnership with the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association and pharmacy partners around the state, the OSDH will be distributing N95 masks around the state to local pharmacies through a distribution system that will provide Oklahomans the opportunity to go to their local pharmacies to receive N95 masks, free of charge. Through the OSDH and Federal Government distributions, local, independent pharmacies and pharmacies that are a part of the Federal Retail Providers program will have N95 masks available to Oklahomans throughout the state. “With the highly transmissible omicron variant we know that the quality of the mask someone chooses to wear matters,” said Michael DeRemer, director of emergency preparedness and response
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service for the OSDH. “We want to make sure all Oklahomans have access to the best mask possible to protect themselves and others from this virus, no matter where they live and at no-cost.” The first shipment of masks was sent to select pharmacies on Thursday, Jan. 27 with the next shipment, to additional pharmacies, occurring on Monday, Jan. 31. In total, the OSDH will be distributing a total of just over 500,000 N95 masks across the state The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) protects and improves public health through its system of local health services and strategies focused on preventing disease. OSDH provides technical support and guidance to 68 county health departments in Oklahoma, as well as guidance and consultation to the two independent city-county health departments in Oåklahoma City and Tulsa. Learn more at Oklahoma.gov/health.
