2 years into the pandemic, why aren't all retail workers getting N-95 masks?

Since Omicron changed the nature of the pandemic, regulations to protect some workers have changed too. For example, most front-line health-care workers in Ontario now have to wear N-95-style masks, which filter out the vast majority of dangerous coronavirus particles. 

However, many other industries that deal with the general public on a regular basis have been slow to adapt as quickly as the virus, leaving the people who work in them with less protection than they could have.

For the most part, grocery stores do not mandate the widespread use of N-95 or equivalent masks, despite mounting evidence that cloth masks and other inferior options do little to slow the spread of the wildfire that is Omicron.

"I believe that everybody who is interacting in an indoor space should be in an N-95 mask or equivalent," said Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician and member of a group called Masks for Canada that is pushing for more widespread availability and use of things like rapid tests, and better masks for all.

In an interview, Wolak says Canada's impressive vaccination campaign is a valuable tool in managing and hopefully one day beating the pandemic, but Omicron is showing that we can't be solely reliant on it. "We need to make sure that we use layer upon layer upon layer of protection," she said.

"This certainly needs to be in place before the next variant comes in so that we can be better prepared and not be caught up as if we were back in March 2020, which is what this feels like."

While Omicron has prompted another surge in demand that has made N-95 and equivalent masks a little harder to find again, prior to the current wave they were readily available. "The government needs to make sure that every Canadian has access to this and an equitable distribution of masks would go a long way to achieving that," she said.

London Drugs is one major retail chain that sees the value in them. Like many other retailers, the Vancouver-based chain of nearly 80 pharmacies across Canada has implemented a mandatory masking policy in store since the start of the pandemic, but over time the chain upgraded its requirements for the types of masks it would use "when the science kept evolving," company president Clint Mahlman told CBC News in an interview.

Since last summer, the chain has made N-95s and similar masks known as KN-95s made with the same materials available and mandatory for all of its staff, whether in store or in head office. "It's very clear this is a prudent and precautionary approach we are taking," Mahlman said, adding that they sell them to customers in store, too.

Under ideal conditions, both N-95 and KN-95 masks filter out more than 95 per cent of microscopic particles from the air. KF-94, a Korean mask standard, is also seen as equivalent and filters more than 94 per cent. Known as respirators in the medical community, they are made with similar materials, and experts agree they provide comparable levels of protection when used properly.

In the early days of the pandemic, demand for N95-style masks far outstripped supply in Canada, which prompted health officials to ask Canadians not to use them, so they could be available for health care workers. But that's no longer the case, so there's no reason to not use them more widely, said Mahlman.

"Things are very different today there's lots of local Canadian manufacturers that we can acquire masks from fairly easily," he said. "That availability is a game changer at this point in the pandemic."

WATCH | Why London Drugs gives staff medical-grade masks: 

Not everyone has the same policy, however.