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Early in the pandemic you might pay $7 or even $10 per N95 mask, and there’s been a tremendous amount of fraud and scammy masks (especially scammy KN95 masks, made in China ostensibly to the Chinese standard) and KF94 South Korean masks that strangely have all Chinese language writing on the packaging.
But the truth is that masks just aren’t that hard to come by anymore. I’ve been covering numerous deals where N95s are plentiful. Some of them sell out quickly. But I haven’t seen anything as low as this deal from Amazon, $1.16 $1.04 per mask with free prime shipping for made in the U.S. Kimberly-Clark N95 masks.
You have to wear a mask if you fly. Many states and businesses require mask-wearing. If you’re going to wear a mask, you should make it a good one that’s actually protective.
This won’t mean that you have the same protection as a health care worker in a hospital with a properly fitted mask. It doesn’t make you invincible. But it’s much better protection than a cloth mask, and better than a level 3 procedure mask. And at this pricing many of you can afford to change out your masks regularly. Learn to wear it properly, there are plenty of videos on Youtube.
The Kimberly-Clark pouch style respirator mask may not be your preferred size and style. It’s a lot more per mask but I like Aiden Health’s N95 fit kit where they send you an assortment of 10 different styles of masks so you can figure out what works best for your face and comfort.
This deal at $1.04 per mask shipped may not last. However I do believe the mask shortage – especially for non-surgical N95s – is over. It’s time to start wearing better masks. They don’t just protect against Covid but can help against other airborne pathogens as well. All of the precautions we’ve been taking have seemed to suppress the flu this year.
N95 masks with the valve attached are still banned on flights, correct?
@Andre yes, because the valve allows your unfiltered breath to escape – it only protects you, not those around you.
These masks don’t do shit. It all about control.
jwinthedesert: would you please man up and get a tattoo on your hand* so that we can easily identify you (perhaps a ‘don’t tread on me’ flag, or a ’45-treason-russian-fascist-insurrectionists-forever’)? I bet you are too weak and too much of a coward to do so. *we will absolutely see it when we are trying to stick you and save your life
If you and your ilk come into my emergency department, you will get some of the best care/the best care on the planet (likely for free/nearly free since I have no doubt you don’t pay ANY of your true share; yet you take, take, take as it is your kind who are the real welfare bois.) Prioritization is the huge aspect which saves lives and ensures efficiency in the ED. Rest assured, we are masters of prioritization, efficiency, and saving lives. 🙂
Very helpful post. While they are a little more costly, they are a more attractive design than the ‘pouch’ ones from Kimberly Clark on Amazon.
Ordered some for higher-risk situations.
I was about to Purchase 2 boxes from the US Mask Company, if nothing else to support a Local business – I also live in the Fort Worth Area – until I got all the way to the final purchase page and they wanted an additional $12.39 for shipping.
Waiting to hear if that is the actual price of shipping, even if its USPS, where the price is no difference no matter the distance it seems a little excessive to me.
Hi Gary,
As a medical professional, would you please expound upon your “All of the precautions we’ve been taking have sure [sic] suppressed the flu this year*”?
I have happily chosen to receive my flu shot this “year”. I care about others besides myself (‘our’ protection mainly protects our parents and grandparents.) *we have not/barely entered this flu year -??are the italics supposed to mean something
Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Abraar Karan says the US can end the Covid-19 pandemic in four weeks if everyone wears N95 masks. Think about that, without vaccines, we can reduce cases of Covid-19 by about 90%!
Of course, the problem is the US has wackos, who think they know more than experts in Public Health. These same wackos don’t want to wear a mask and don’t want to be vaccinated. But wait until employers and schools require vaccinations!
The virus will continue to wreck havoc on American society for years to come!
FALSE – THESE ARE NOT FREE SHIPPING – SHIPPING COST WAS OVER $12 AT CHECK OUT!
PLEASE UPDATE THIS
@J just Google “flu season 2020”. Flu is down everywhere year over year even if it’s still early.
@jwinthedesert and all the other denial-hoaxist types—if you had a heart attack this moment and you were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, unconscious, and had to have open-heart surgery, today, would you be totally OK with your EMTs, surgical team, nurses, orderlies, phlebotomists, anesthesiologists, all going maskless around you? And while you are recovering in the ICU–right down the hall from the Covid unit– you are OK with all those on your medical team who come to check your vitals every 20 minutes and poke and prod you, don’t let you get any decent sleep, they can breathe all over you, maskless, too, right? Hmmm. I knew a guy like you, didn’t believe in masks…Herman Cain, I think it was.
BTW, isn’t LH putting in stricter mask rules, like N-95s?
JohnB: YES! Thank you! I happened to read that this morning. Let us all love our fellow Americans (and all people) and wear masks (as well as proper hand washing and social-distancing… and vacc-ing when you are able.) This also saves our economies.
I seriously hesitate to get anywhere near what I’m about to write (for meds: ‘fit-testing’), yet might I suggest for you amazing fellow men who also have had glorious beards, won’t you join me in also shaving off your beard for these times to wear your n95 mask? Plus, even if you are one of the amazing ones who buy/wear an n-95 mask, you still need to be completely careful/thoughtful/wonderful. All of us.
The virus DEFINITELY does not need to wreak havoc on the people of this great country and this great world for years to come: as long as we all do our parts. Yet, if we don’t, it absolutely will.
Aside: if anyone has any (COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE -this is an effing trying time) feelings of despair incl hurting themselves, please call the amazing people at 1-800-273-8255 (273-talk) in the usa. In other countries, please call those dedicated lines or start with your closest contacts and let them know you need help. We all do at some point, it takes tremendous courage to reach out. We love you all, completely, forever.
Dan: It’s 2021. Having done an exceptional amount of my time in peds and PICU, no one with a clue would make a determination about this flu season, especially not for ignorant political reasons.
@JohnB — Plenty of Ivy League doctors have been SPECTACULARLY wrong with their Covid predictions the past year. There is zero scientific evidence that public mask wearing has ever helped prevent ANY virus from spreading in a population and the broad scientific consensus had been that it was a bad idea for respiratory viruses. So far, the data has spectacularly confirmed these conclusions, yet some people still want MORE masks! What we really need are fewer masks, particularly outside, where they are harmful to people and have no scientific justification whatsoever. In certain limited indoor circumstances, you could reasonably argue for “better masks,” and N95s are better masks. But they were never designed to be worn for extended periods of time, and are wholly impractical for most work situations.
And Dan: it ain’t as simple as “google’ this. It’s way better when we find, learn, know, implement the facts and data. Won’t you join me in caring about our fellow Americans and fellow humans? It ain’t that hard. Let us all get a clue, and then implement it.
A poor man’s fitting test is to wear glasses or sunglasses. If they fog up, the mask is not fitted correctly. The fitting test at the bottom, you just have to feel it. Early on, they said not to wear these N95 because of a shortage in hospitals. They predicted late December or early January for the shortage to to end.
Now is the time to stop wearing these poor quality cloth masks and to upgrade to N95. N95’s life can be extended by wearing a mask over it and removing that mask carefully. Joe Biden wears a double mask to hide his N95 from the public.
Reduced contact/shelter in place plus N95 when you have to leave the house is very good protection. Add vaccines and the level of coverage is not 100% but very good.
chopsticks: I was about to sign off, then read your total ignorance: UTTER BS: “There is zero scientific evidence that public mask wearing has ever helped prevent ANY virus.. blah blah blah. TOTAL BULLSHIT
re: BS: ‘respiratory issues’. The data are more than clear. UTTER BS. Total and utter ignorance.
COMPLETE AND UTTER BULLSHIT.
The world is round, sun sets in the West, *rump is a treasonous, seditious, fascist. Just because you stupidly hate the facts, doesn’t change ’em.
Utter imbeciles: see ya!!! smoochies!
@chopsticks your claim about zero evidence concerning facemasks impacting the spread of viruses is nothing but a lie. It is because of fools like you that the country is currently in the crisis that it is. Crawl back under your rock with your nonsense theories.
Anyone who thinks a mask is about control is too stupid for the world we live in.
Good for them for making masks here in the USA. I’ll admit the mask I wear nowadays is the Korean style design one since it’s the most comfortable and breathable for my face. If they had one of similar style I would have bought from them.
(ok this is my last message of the night…)
Dear, dear Joey: mate, I hear you. Yes, about the country of produce. Yet, this is now really about being human. Don’t every one of us parents just want the best for our children… and our parents and relatives and the same for those around the world? This is a time of urgence, mate, let us all love and promote it to make all of us even better and better.
Anyone reading this: look up videos of children laughing, and loving, and cherishing, and valueing… there ain’t any true difference amongst us. Plus, it’ll make your day. XX love to all
@T free shipping for prime
I think it’s hilarious when people are wearing masks… if they actually cared about stopping the spread. They wouldn’t be out of their house except for emergency reasons… thats the only SURE way to stop the spread of their cooties.
Sat, 23JAN, 8:18pm CST… I just tried to purchase a box of 20 masks for $45 from their website, but it showed as “sold out”. But if I clicked on the option of buying 2 boxes of 20 masks for $70, it was available. RIP OFF!!! Beyond lame. I’ll say it once again, RIP OFF!!!
We bought 20 of the K-N-95 masks.
When we come home we throw them in the clothes dryer.
When we are running low I simply run the clothes dryer on hot for 15 minutes as heat kills the virus.
Thankfully this week I got the vaccine.
It is Pfizer so have to go back for a second dose in February, but by the end of February I will return to a normal life. Still will wear a mask in stores but for the first time in a year will do in restaurant dining, maybe check out the movies and see if they open that up soon, outside I will not longer wear a mask at all. For a year we masked up both inside and on outside walks in urban areas, but not rural areas, Have 2 vacations already booked, and planning a 3rd one, life will be grand, soon, very soon. Being vaccinated makes all the difference in the world.
@Gary Its not free shipping for United States Mask company which is what T was talking about with the $12+ shipping charge, unless you have a link to their masks on Amazon which I could not find.
@Mark N not sure what you are talking about. I can add one box of $20 masks if I wanted. You do need to purchase the two package option to get the rate per mask mentioned in the article though and then you have to add in shipping costs.
I don’t know about mask is for control. I don’t want to argue with idiots about science.
I want those idiots to wear masks so their bad breath (and virus) won’t go very far.
For the exact same reason, any masks help to combat virus, to some extent.
@Bill, when I logged on, the single box option was showing “sold out”. I sent an email to the company, and they responded within 7 minutes saying it was a glitch on their end. They have since reset their website to allow a single box of masks to be purchased. Their customer service, on a Saturday night, has been beyond impressive. I retract my earlier comment, and will be purchasing a box ASAP.
Thanks to Gary for posting this info. I’m sure there are many of us that have not revisted mask purchases since we stocked up at the beginning of the pandemic. Personally I prefer the 3M version of N95 with valves but these are hard to come by.
Too bad the comment section has degenerated into another silly fight with mask deniers.
@Bill the free shipping refers to the masks @ $1.16/each not to the US Mask Company masks which are 1.75/each
Kf94 mask with chinese characters? Can you even tell the difference between koreans and chinese characters?
This blog is becoming more racist and ignorent by the day. Leader in business? Pathetic.
Comments on Gary’s article range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some thoughts.
(1) N-95 masks should not be worn day after day. So say numbers of physicians, surgeons, and research that can be found in reliable sources on the Internet.
(2) Those believing that masks are the answer to many of our woes should read the Swiss study of the effectiveness of masks, which you can find by searching for on the Internet.
(3) Washing the cloth masks without adding an anti-viral substance — Clorox, for example — to the water will not kill any particles of Covid-19 trapped in the masks.
(4) Dr Fauci has likely confused more people than he imagines by changing his pronouncements: originally made as if they were carved in stone and obtained on Mt. Sinai, but altered or retracted after he’d become acquainted with subsequent research. He promotes the widespread belief that we’re reached the “truth” about more aspects of Covid-19 that we have in fact. He may be a most effective administrator, a highly qualified researcher, but he’s not as effective a spokesperson as Mr Biden needs.
I lost all respect for you “J” after you brought Trump into the mix. You posted some good ideas but ruined it with your political slant.
Not sure why otherwise supposedly educated people need to resort to name calling and labeling all Trump voters in negative terms. I voted for Trump but wear a mask and support most of the CDC guidelines. If you left wingers truly want unity you will tone down the rhetoric.
Please note this disclaimer at the very bottom of the listing: “This product is NOT for Medical Use and has not been tested against COVID-19 so cannot be recommended for efficacy or use against COVID-19.”
Also concerning delivery cost: If you have Amazon Prime, it says eligible for free delivery.
@chris – yes i can tell the difference between Chinese and Korean and I’ve translated some of the writing to be sure of what I’m talking about, why is this racist? (Wouldn’t it be racist to say there’s no difference?)
Bought 40 N95 masks from US Mask Company for $70+$10 shipping.
Unclear whether the KN95 masks I bought a couple of months ago are as good – they are on the “emergency certification” list, but in general I’m disinclined to trust Chinese companies.
I’m happy to have “certified” masks made somewhere I feel more trust in. And once I’ve been vaccinated and am traveling again they should meet airline standards.
To All who are still reading, non-belivers, don’t bother. The good and the bad. I received my United States mask today. I have been wearing it now for ten minutes. I have some very light fogging, much better than others. To me, it feels like they have a tighter fit around the sides than other masks and I have a serious assortment of N95/Kn95 surgical/Waterproof surgical and a host of fabric masks. I like these, the bands do not go around the ear, they go around the head which makes for the tighter seal. They are individually wrapped which is great. I originally bought 80 of them. I wanted to order more to give away, they are sold out. There is now a waiting list with notification.
These fit slightly tighter than KN95, but 100% does not have the seal or tight fit as the other 5 different N95s I have. The cause I feel is the straps. These are extremely flimsy straps and does not really provide the rubberband tightness on other n95. you can probably check the elastic pull on these and compare but they will break before it gets to other n95. I would only treat these 1 notch above kn95 but nothing more. In reality, they feel like kn95 but with a loose around the head strap. Keep in mind, I have a huge head and wear an XXL bike helmet so imagine how loose it would be on a S/M head.
The 3 Moldex and 2 Honeywell I have has such a tight seal that no air will come out via the side of the mask so it does not fog up my glasses and its so tight that after 30min to 1 hr of wear, you can see an inprint around my face very similar to what you see from front line medical staff after long duration wearing proper N95.
There is no way these n95 can provide the same level of tight seal as the other Moldex/3M/Honeywell N95. If you really need it, get it. But n95s are pretty available now both on amazon and other site like grainger but at higher prices ($4-5) each and most would have exhale valves which would not be accepted on planes etc but they do provide the best protection for the wearer.
AMazon still has 3m 8210V with cool valve for $102 for 80. I ordered from Grainger for local pickup today Moldex with no valve but with a quick release neck hanging strap. That moldex is $2 a piece. Still worthwhile.
If you have had n95, this N95 will not meet your standards and expectations. Wait fo 3m 8210 goes back on sale or buy from other sites for $2 a piece.
I ordered the Aiden fit kit you mention on 1/24 and was charged for it, but never got a confirmation email and never got the shipment. I’ve reached out to the company several times through their website and never heard back. The phone number goes to voicemail. I will give them a few more days to respond, but I think they may be dead and I may need to do a chargeback.
Cmorgan your comments are right on the mark..Thank You
these N95 masks from Kimberly Clark are flimsy with a very awkward head strap. You look like Pinochio wearing one. Don’t let the price suck you in; spend a little more and get one that lasts more than once or twice wearing it
I haven’t worn a face diaper yet. I wonder how much money I’ve saved over the past year not succumbing to Covid Derangement Syndrome.