Ben Domenech Hits Dr. Fauci for Urging Mask Wearing Even After Vaccination: He Has ‘Outlived His Usefulness’

Conservative commentator Ben Domenech hit back at Dr. Anthony Fauci for recommending the continued wearing of masks by those who have been vaccinated, except for in certain situations where everyone present has been inoculated.

During a segment on Fox News’ Special Report, Domenech responded to yet another public clash between Fauci and mask-skeptic Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). At a Senate hearing earlier on Thursday, Paul accused Fauci, who has been vaccinated, of engaging in “theater” for wearing two masks. Fauci had very aggressively pushed back on the GOP senator, citing the ongoing risks of the uninfected and the spread of new, future variants that could be more resistant to the current vaccines.

Host Bret Baier summed up Paul’s complaint, in the discussion. “I think he was saying if you are going to say to everyone that you have to wear a mask forever, that it is going to dissuade people from getting vaccinated,” he explained.

“Look, I want to be measured and when I am saying here, Domenech said. “Dr. Fauci is someone who has worked very hard for the American people. He is in many ways someone that we all should respect, but I think that the fact is that he is someone as a messenger who has outlived his usefulness to both administrations, this one in the previous one because of his inconsistency is and because I think people see through this kind of theater that Rand Paul was criticizing.”

“If you have gone through this whole procedure in order to get the shots, nothing about your life is going to change under our guidelines. That’s the opposite of the message we ought to be sending. And it is the opposite of the message politicians ought to be sending,” Domenech added, before pushing misinformation about the vaccines and mitigation value of mask wearing. “Virtually all of them that you see on your TV cameras have been vaccinated. They are not going to be transmitting this disease, they are not vulnerable to it anymore, and instead of living that out in front of us as an incentive for more Americans to get vaccinated, they are engaged in this type of theater that is to play on our cameras that really illustrates to people, you shouldn’t even bother. Because nothing about your life is going to change, and that to me is very dangerous.”

There are two main problems with the accuracy of Domenech’s claims, however.

First, because the vaccines require as much as two weeks to build up full immunity after the final does, the CDC notes: “It’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.”

Likewise, though the vaccines have been proven highly effective in preventing infections, they have not been fully studied on their ability to prevent the transmission of Covid. As a result, CDC guidance warns: “Though the risk of disease may be minimal to the fully vaccinated person themselves, they should be mindful of their potential risk of transmitting the virus to others.” With the chance that one could still spread the virus despite being vaccinated, Fauci’s recommendation to continued to wear a mask remains a key weapon in protecting the community.

Watch the video above, via Fox News.