Where can I find N95 or KN95 in Los Angeles?

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This is one of the most frequently asked questions that we received as a company.  In pre-pandemic times, you could walk into a medical supply store in Los Angeles to find surgical N95s.  Or you could walk into any hardware stores in Los Angeles to find NIOSH N95s.  Now it has become like a treasure hunt depending on your city.  Well let us help you find it in your city.  Using data scraping and web automation tools, we’ll search and update this page with stores that offer N95 or KN95 in your city.  We can’t guarantee that it is quality, but we can tell you that you might be able to buy it if you walk into a store.

 A History of COVID-19 in Los Angeles

by Shana Scott

It’s the same questions over and over. When looking into the history of COVID-19 in Los Angeles we can’t help but ask could officials have done more? Was a PPE shortage in Los Angeles to blame for part of the rapid spread? What if international travel had been banned sooner? Why did officials wait until there were already cases confirmed before taking action? And what does this mean for the future?

The First Confirmed COVID-19 Case in Los Angeles

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Los Angeles was on January 22, 2020. It was a man in his 30’s traveling from Wuhan, China. At this point, the world was aware of the virus, yet international travel remained open.

This man was traveling with his family from Wuhan to Mexico on holiday. While in Mexico they received information about a family member’s death due to COVID-19 and proceeded to return home. Upon arrival at LAX, the man reported to a customs agent and explained he was “feeling terrible” and came from Wuhan.

After CDC screening, he would become LA’s first confirmed COVID-19 case and the 4th in the U.S. It is impossible to say how many people he had been in contact with during his first initial layover at LAX en route to Mexico and the second in which he reported feeling ill. How many people were in contact with him in the other airports as well as on the planes and the hotel in Mexico?

Los Angeles would not report another confirmed case of COVID-19 until 39 days later. By April 10, 2020, there were over 8,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles including 214 deaths. LA County was already requiring face masks while in public at this time. However, the LA County Public Health office was publically asking that N95 masks only be used by “healthcare workers, first responders, essential workers providing care for people who are ill, and people who are ill.” This was a clear indication of the PPE shortage faced in Los Angeles as well as the rest of the country.

Officials Were Aware Yet Cautious

As of the beginning of February, officials were still stating that the chances of contracting the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in the Los Angeles area were low. Officials were keeping the information in regards to positive cases private in respect for the individual, however, we would see this change in future months as the outbreak of COVID-19 in Los Angeles became another sad statistic in the pandemic.

March 19, 2020, would see the introduction of a stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles with only 174 cases in the state. In mid-May, the county began lifting restrictions with a “Safer at Home” order allowing the slow reopening of the economy, as we have seen in many parts of the world. Yet, only a week later, LA mayor Garcetti would again close beach parking and recreational facilities due to the overwhelming number of people gathering. While attempting to allow residents mediocre resemblance normalcy, the government was urgent in its pleas of safety and seriousness. 

However, even with these regulations, L.A. mayor Garcetti would admit concerns later in July that the economy reopened too soon due to increasing confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County reissued a stay-at-home order and even extended it in December 2020 as ICUs across the region saw a spike in patients causing the availability to drop to 0%. 

The Los Angeles Public Health official Twitter account did a special remembrance on New Year’s Eve with the hashtag #Every10Minutes reminding people that these are more than just numbers but friends, co-workers, brothers, mothers, and more that have lost their lives during this pandemic. 

Now, as we cautiously enter the New Year, we see the reopening of the economy in Los Angeles once again. What will this and the second wave have in store?

PPE Shortages in Los Angeles

A recent study showed that more than 15,800 essential workers who contracted COVID-19 could have been spared had there been proper PPE supplies in California alone. Sources say that the current PPE shortage in Los Angeles could last another two years! 

At Garfield Medical Center in Los Angeles, reports have been made of supplies rationing and guidelines to clean N95 masks up to 20 times before replacing them. All of this is in the name of stretching supplies as far as they can go and not necessarily within the regulations of how far they should go.

Fake N95 masks and other PPE

Early on in the pandemic, we began to see multiple instances of individuals, as well as companies, taking advantage of the situation. One such situation arose when Fox 11 news confronted a man in Los Angeles who claimed to be selling highly sought after N95 masks at a price four times the average. Upon further inspection, it was proven these N95 masks were counterfeit. 

As early as March, customs was already confiscating fake N95 masks along with other essential PPE on flights in Los Angeles and it became apparent that catching COVID-19 wasn’t going to be the only thing citizens needed to watch for. The CDC has put out a guide to identify real and fake N95 masks.

COVID-19 in Los Angeles Today

Currently, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles have surpassed the one million mark becoming the first county to pass this dreaded milestone with the highest weekly peak having been the week before Christmas. COVID-19 has claimed more than 15,000 lives in LA County. Sadly, 5,000 of the accounted deaths occurred within a 24 day period. As January 2021 closes out, Los Angeles has seen a decrease in positive cases, showing signs of a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. 

Though one is left with many questions and concerns as confirmations begin to come through of positive cases of the new strain, a continuing PPE shortage, and essential workers who are just exhausted…how much longer can we continue?

 

 

Potential KN95 or N95 in your city.

Home Improvement:

https://www.homedepot.com/

Home Depot sells HDX N95 respirator for 10 pieces/$17.97 which places each piece per mask at $1.80 per piece.  This is a good price for an N95. This is a private label Makrite respirator which unfortunately has a history of counterfeit. 

Home Depot sells Makrite Sekura Flat Fold N95 respirator for 8 pieces/$12.97 which places each piece per mask at $1.62 per piece.  This is a good price for an N95. This is a Makrite respirator which unfortunately has a history of counterfeit.  

 

https://www.lowes.com/

Lowes sells KN95 made by Xam-Med for 10 pieces/$12.49 which places each piece per mask at $1.24 per piece.  This is not an FDA authorized KN95 and the quality is not known. 

Lowes sells N95 made by Dasheng for 5 pieces/$7.49 which places each piece per mask at $1.49 per piece.  This is a good price for an N95. This is a Dasheng respirator which unfortunately has a history of counterfeit.  

 

https://www.truevalue.com/

TrueValue sells KN95 made by Devon Medical for 5 pieces/$39.99 which places each piece per mask at $7.99 per piece.  This is not an FDA authorized KN95 and the quality is not known.  Also, TrueValue does NOT show in store availability.

TrueValue sells KN95 made by Co-win Group Limited for 10 pieces/$28.99 which places each piece per mask at $2.89 per piece.  This is not an FDA authorized KN95 and the quality is not known.  Also, TrueValue does NOT show in store availability.

 

https://www.acehardware.com/

Ace sells KN95 made by World Tech for 2 pieces/$2.79 which places piece per mask cost at $1.40 per piece.  This is not an FDA authorized KN95 and the quality is not known.  Also, Ace does NOT show in store availability.

Ace also sells KN95 made by Makrite for  2 pieces/$2.79 which places each piece per mask at $1.40 per piece.  This is not an FDA authorized KN95 and the quality is not known.  However, Makrite is a well known brand in the respirator industry.  Unfortunately, Makrite has been plagued by counterfeit respirators recently.  Also, Ace does NOT show in store availability.

Pharmacies:

Most large chain pharmacies do not list their KN95 or N95 availability.  There have been internet rumors about availability in these stores, but we cannot verify this in your city.

https://www.riteaid.com/

https://www.walgreens.com/

https://www.cvs.com/

 

Many smaller chain pharmacies and medical supplies stores will commonly carry KN95.  Most of the brands are NOT FDA authorized and we recommend caution from using them as healthcare workers.  

 

Home Depot	In stock
Lowes	In stock
Ace Hardware	Data Unavailable
True Value	Data Unavailable
Rite Aid	Data Unavailable
Walgreen	Data Unavailable
CVS	Data Unavailable
Local Pharmacy or medical supply	Call to ask

 

Our Link is Recommended by Past US Assistant Surgeon General