Newspaper: N95 masks weren’t allocated based on population

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A newspaper’s analysis shows that Maine received less than a third fewer protective respirator masks per resident from the national stockpile than Vermont or Rhode Island but more than three times that of Texas. The Portland Press Herald reports that the N95 masks weren’t allocated based on population, as the Trump administration indicated. The masks filter out 95% of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by regular masks. The newspaper did note that partisan politics didn’t appear to have played a factor in which states got larger shipments. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree said there’s “no transparency or accountability.”