President Joe Biden plans to distribute 400 million N95 face masks to pharmacies and community sites across the nation.

The masks will be sourced from the government's Strategic National Stockpile and distributed for free, insiders familiar with the plan told Politico. 

The initiative is part of Biden's effort to ensure the Americans have access to 'more-protective' masks as some states are experiencing a surge in COVID cases.

It comes after public health experts and former Biden transition advisers in recent weeks have pushed the White House to take action as people struggle to find affordable and genuine N95s.

Biden is expected to formally announce the plan on Wednesday, as well as discuss the administration's efforts to slow the surge and increase COVID testing.

Last week, Biden signaled that he would soon be announcing a plan to distribute free face masks to citizens, acknowledging 'high-quality masks' are not always accessible to everyone.

'I know for some Americans the mask is not always affordable or convenient to get,' he said Thursday.

'I know we all wish that we could finally be done with wearing masks. I get it. But they're a really important tool to stop the spread, especially of a highly transmittable Omicron variant.'

The president also pushed citizens to 'please, please wear the mask.'    

The government has 737 million N95 masks in its national stockpile, HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell revealed Tuesday.