over 40,000 lives if people act responsibly", and that "it's not about your rights, it's about your responsibilities as an american." on september 16, biden stated that he believed the president had the legal authority to mandate masks nationwide via an executive order. however, during a cnn town hall the next day, biden stated that he could not mandate masks nationwide, but could do so for federal property, and that he would urge governors to follow suit at the state level. on september 16, redfield testified to the senate appropriations committee that masks were the country's "most powerful public health tool", as they had "clear scientific evidence" that they worked. he explained that "this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid than when i take a covid vaccine, because the immunogenicity may be 70%, and if i don’t get an immune response, the vaccine's not going to protect me. this face mask will." action by the biden administration president joe biden signs executive orders in a face maskon january 20, 2021, biden signed an executive order requiring executive departments and agencies to enforce compliance with covid-19-related guidance issued by the cdc, such as the wearing of face masks by the visitors and staff of federal land. on january 21, 2021, biden signed another executive order mandating masks be worn in compliance with cdc recommendations on all forms of public transportation, including planes, trains, buses, ships, and airports. supply the provision and shipment of ppe to other countries such as china contributed to an early shortage of masks and other supplies in the united states, and was criticized by democratic officials. forbes.com senior contributor david disalvo reported that on march 30 "roughly 280 million masks from warehouses around the u.s. had been purchased by foreign buyers and were earmarked to leave the country". the next day, vice president mike pence suspended the export of protective supplies from the stockpiles of the usaid program in order to investigate. the trump administration denied that the exported stock came from the national stockpile, and stated that it had come from private donations. on april 2, trump announced that he would invoke the defense production act to compel 3m, general electric, and medtronic to increase their production of n95 respirators. by september 2020, n95 respirators were still in short supply. even though 3m had increased domestic production from 20 million to 95 million respirators a month, they said "the demand is more than we, and the entire industry, can supply for the foreseeable future." health care workers continued to express fears of shortages. small u.s.-based manufacturers who invested in manufacturing infrastructure and successfully navigated a nine-month federal approval process reported in february 2021 that they were unable to find buyers for the tens of millions of masks they had produced. the advertising of these masks has been banned on platforms like google and facebook and medical supply distributors, hospital systems and state governments, the main purchasers of masks, are wary of locally manufactured masks, which are more expensive than the ones produced in china. testifying before congress about the need to support domestic mask manufacturers, one industry executive called the dependence on foreign manufacture "a national security problem". by february 2021, suppliers had increased production of medical masks, and some manufacturers reported a surplus. 3m and honeywell had increased their production of n95 respirators to around 120 million each month, but the health sector is estimated to need around 3.5 billion masks each year, and the limited production is directly sent to the medical distributors that supply large hospital systems. overall shortages were still reported because some hospitals expected healthcare workers to reuse their masks, even as they were building up stockpiles in anticipation of future need. hospital purchasers were poorly connected with new suppliers, hesitant to buy from new manufacturers, or resistant to pay higher prices for domestic products. counterfeits also continued to pose problems for purchasers. n95 manufacturers and other companies were reluctant to invest more in domestic mask production because domestic manufacture in the united states is not profitable. there are some american companies who can shift production temporarily to meet the demand for masks but most of them have not received any funding through the dpa. some have taken the initiative but experienced problems with the fit of the masks and obtaining regulatory approvals. 3m and other n95 manufacturers have not entered into any corporate partnerships to share intellectual property or increase n95 production. theft thefts of face masks and other personal protective equipment were reported at hospitals in the united states. the naval medical center san diego implemented random bag checks for staff members, after several incidents of theft. thefts of n95 masks were reported from a locked hospital office in south carolina and off loading docks at the university of washington. a hospital employee in cooperstown, new york was charged with misdemeanor larceny for a similar incident. counterfeit masks the third-party market was still inundated with a deluge of counterfeit masks in february 2021, one year into the pandemic. federal agents seized over 10 million fake 3m-branded masks in early 2021. some were purchased by hospitals even though the masks did not come from authorized distributors. the masks are sold at higher prices than the authentic 3m masks, which retail at around $1.27 each. 3m filed multiple lawsuits against unauthorized sellers for endangering the lives of medical workers. the company issued a statement to say "this is not a problem that is going away". attitudes a member of the rhode island national guard sewing handmade face masks. protection of others prior to the covid-19 pandemic, the public wearing of face masks to protect others from the spread of infectious disease was not a widely accepted phenomenon in the united states, and had historically been more prevalent in east asian countries. political views the issue of whether or not to wear a mask in public became, for some, a dividing line in the culture war. politico described progressives as considering masks "a sign that you take the pandemic seriously and are willing to make a personal sacrifice to save lives". supporters of the cdc's recommendations derided what they described as their opponents' ignorance, selfishness, antiscience stance, and lack of respect for fellow citizens. a tyrannosaurus rex sculpture outside boston's museum of science wearing a face mask and a band-aid indicating a covid-19 vaccine has been administered. masks were cited as a means of controlling covid-19 without the need to reimpose stay-at-home orders and business closures (which would cause further economic strain). the wearing of face masks has also been seen by opponents as virtue signaling for liberal values, and as a symbol of intimidation, social control, and opposition towards president trump. while these health orders usually have exceptions for those with medical conditions (such as breathing problems) or disabilities that would make it difficult to wear a mask, false flyers distributed via social media encouraged people to claim to businesses requiring masks that they have a medical condition protected under the americans with disabilities act, but that under the health insurance portability and accountability act (hipaa), they are not required to disclose the medical condition. the hipaa is a data protection law for the health care industry, and does not apply in this manner. opposing views against masks have also been promoted by conservative media outlets such as fox news, and radio host rush limbaugh — who argued that masks were a "required symbol on the left to promote fear, to promote indecision, to promote the notion that we’re nowhere near out of this". initially in march 2020, fox news pundits tucker carlson and laura ingraham endorsed the wearing of masks, with carlson explaining that they were "key" to controlling covid-19 in east asian countries, while also criticizing the cdc for initially discouraging their use by the general public. after the practice became politicized, however, both pundits began to display opposition to masks on-air: in may 2020, carlson criticized fauci for his fluctuating guidance on masks, and claimed that there was no scientific basis for a mask mandate issued in los angeles (referring to its residents as being "hostages" of mayor eric garcetti). some fox news pundits however, including sean hannity and fox & friends host steve doocy, have been more receptive to masks on-air. the washington post reported that in an april 2020 poll, 79% of self-identified democrats and 59% of republicans stated that they had worn a mask or other face covering in public. those who knew someone who had been infected with covid-19 were 40% more likely to wear a mask in public than those who didn't. a gallup poll the same month found that 75% of democrats and 48% of republicans had worn a mask outside in the past week. in a june 2020 survey by politico and morning consult, 60% of those who said they supported the wearing of masks also stated that their opinion of the trump administration was "very favorable". in late-june 2020, amid a major surge in cases in multiple states (especially in the sun belt), support towards masks abruptly emerged among prominent d.c. republicans, in an effort to counter resistance towards the practice from president trump. in a june 28 interview on face the nation, pence recommended that americans follow the advice of local health officials in regards to wearing masks, as "every state has a unique situation." other prominent republicans also began to abruptly support masks and urge trump to be a role model for his supporters, including chair of the senate health, education, labor and pensions committee lamar alexander and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. alexander commented that "this simple lifesaving practice has become part of a political debate that says: if you're for trump, you don't wear a mask. if you're against trump, you do", and argued that trump could "help end this political debate". a politico survey in july 2020 found that there was bipartisan majority support for mask mandates, with 72% of those surveyed saying that they strongly or somewhat supported statewide mask mandates that are punishable by fines or jail, with 53% expressing strong support. this included 86% of self-identified democrats surveyed, 58% of self-identified republicans surveyed, and 68% of self-identified independents surveyed. during a rally on september 21, 2020, an attempt by ohio lieutenant governor jon a. husted to promote trump 2020 and make america great again-branded face masks as campaign merchandise (as part of a stated goal to " to make masks in america great again") to the crowd was met with boos, to which he remarked that the audience members had "made point". opposition to the practice of wearing face masks, and to orders mandating face mask use, has led to historical comparisons with the anti-mask league of san francisco that was active during the spanish flu pandemic of 1918–19. among racial minorities protesters of the murder of george floyd wearing masks; one is inscribed with the text "#blacklivesmatter". concerns surrounding the politicization of masks have been especially prominent among minority communities, such as african and asian americans. concerns were raised by african americans that the wearing of masks may encourage racial profiling due to their association with their use by criminals to conceal identity, such as an officer shown handcuffing a black doctor wearing a mask steps from his home, and a police officer in illinois following two black men wearing surgical masks as they exited a walmart, and falsely claiming that the city prohibited the wearing of masks. there have also been incidents of bullying, discrimination, and ethnic violence and insults against asian americans who wear masks, as part of ongoing anti-asian sentiment tied to the pandemic due to its mainland chinese origin. the april 2020 poll found that 32% of hispanic and latino americans surveyed, and 30% of african americans surveyed, were concerned that wearing a mask would cause them to be mistaken for a criminal, as opposed to 19% each of asian americans and whites. despite this, larger proportions of people among minority communities said they had worn a mask in public than whites (66%), at 71% of hispanic and latino americans surveyed, 74% of african americans surveyed, and 82% of asian americans surveyed. in late-may and early-june 2020, masks printed with slogans