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What is an N95 mask and where can you get one?

N95 masks provide optimal face coverage and are being recommended by health experts to protect against the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Omicron is by far the most infectious variant of COVID-19, so while cloth masks were effective against earlier variants of the virus, they aren’t really cutting it against Omicron.

The most effective mask that’s currently available in Australia is the N95 mask also sometimes called the P2 mask.

N95 Mask
Credit: Getty Images

It looks a bit like the dust masks that ‘handyman’ Dads wear around at the local shops because they need to prove to everyone else that they own a circular saw.

If you wear them properly, an N95 mask fits snug against your face without the gaping holes on either side of your face that are pretty much an open invitation for the spicy cough.

But like everything else that could make life easier during the pandemic, getting your hands on these masks is not a walk in the park.

Here are some links to websites that are selling the masks:

Catch.com is selling 10-packs of Catzon KN95 masks for $24.75 or 400 ALTSA N95 masks for $506.

You can get a pack of 10, KN95 respirator masks for $18.70 from Kogan.

For $55 Medcart are selling packs of 20 P2 masks.

A box of 10 N95 masks for $27.45 from Vital Medical Supplies.

Or 25 P2 masks from PPETECH for $59.95.