Went to 4 different pharmacies, 2 of them enormous. Couldn't find any masks/respirators on the shelves. In each case I asked a store helper person. Only in the 4th one I went to did they have anything, and in that case there was only one type of product available - a disposable N95 respirator by 3M. They cost $5 each.
How are you finding masks and affording to stay masked all the time? It seems really expensive...
I'm buying them in bulk online. Depending on your location, there will be wholesalers, and Amazon is probably dependable, although I've never used the latter.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8210-Pack/dp/B008MCUZZS/
You don't have to worry about counterfeit when it's from the 3M store.
Bulk buying online is the way to go, not just for masks but for everything. Every trip to a shop avoided is a mask saved. Well not exactly because you can reuse the masks a few times as long as the elastic is still good and you leave each mask 3 days between uses.
Aside from buying the disposable masks in bulk, you could probably save a lot of money with a reusable respirator. Then you only need to worry about replacing the filters. My partner picked up a 3M 7502 recently and loves it. I've been looking at getting the Envo Pro as well. It's definitely not as effective as the 7502, but if you're like me and can't get away with something like the 7502 at work, it may be worth looking at.
Honestly I wish I had the confidence to go 7502. Really, my workmates would snicker behind my back (more than they already are), but I'd live. I spotted a dude on the airplane with a 7502 and I gave him massive props.
I live in Taiwan and manufacturers here have n95 equivalents (taiwanese gov standards) that are very cheap.
Masks were invented in Taiwan btw
I got some of those reusable silicone masks with the disposable filter inserts (there's a few brands that are basically all the same). I don't know how effective they are exactly but the filters are cheap.
Amazon, currently. I pay about $20 a month for masks, and I often see deals on 3m n95s.
There are some medical supply places online where you can sometimes find deals on bulk masks. Haven't used any of those sites personally, by a friend of mine got about 400 3m n95 masks for about $150 a year ago.
Generally n95s are good for at least 8hrs of straight use from what I've seen. So if you are only grocery shopping or going on public transit or other relatively short time periods, you can re-use the same high quality one for a while.
