D.C. mayor offering 10 free child-sized KN95 respirators per resident

Mayor Muriel Bowser seeks to prolong habit of mask-wearing among children, even though the CDC warns that respirators have "not been tested for broad use in children."
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
By Greg Piper

The mayor is trying to prolong the habit of mask-wearing among children apart from mandates, offering 10 free child-sized KN95 respirators per resident starting Wednesday at the city's COVID Centers. 

The CDC still warns that respirators have "not been tested for broad use in children" and shouldn't be worn if kids have difficulty breathing, become dizzy or show "other symptoms" while wearing them.

Both the feds and American Medical Association have warned that 60% of KN95s evaluated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health in 2020 and 2021 didn't work correctly, with the AMA calling them "counterfeit." D.C.'s American University and Georgetown University both admitted distributing improper KN95s last month.

Bowser has not always followed her own masking rules. Over the span of less than 24 hours last summer, during which she reinstated the mask mandate, the mayor partied maskless with comedian Dave Chapelle for her birthday and officiated an indoor wedding barefaced.