CNN’s Dr. Leana Wen Says Biden Covid Crackdowns Make Americans Question Vaccines: ‘What’s the Point of Getting Vaccinated?’

CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen argued the Biden administration’s onerous Covid-19 rules are discouraging Americans from becoming vaccinated against it.

“I understand that the Biden team wants to be cautious, but caution comes at a price,” Wen said in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “And that price is that people are saying, well, what’s the point of getting vaccinated? If not that much changes for me. I think that what the Biden administration has been doing is to say, here’s what we, as a society, should do. Once we reach a certain level of vaccination in the society, once the infection level decreases, we’ll lift restrictions for everyone. But I think they’re discounting that many Americans want to know, what’s in it for me? They don’t want to wait until everyone gets to some elusive herd immunity. I think it will be a lot more effective if we say once you are fully vaccinated, that’s the end of the road for you. So at that point, you’re able to take off your mask outside. You’re able to go about enjoying many aspects of pre-pandemic life. I think that is going to be key to overcoming vaccine hesitancy.”

The Biden administration announced Tuesday it would no longer recommend that Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 wear face masks in certain outdoor settings. Cooper asked Wen if she viewed that as a problem, saying, “Is that a risk? I mean … are more people just going to start taking off their masks, whether or not they have been vaccinated? It’s not like anybody’s checking.”

Wen said she didn’t view it as an issue, and even suggested the new guidance didn’t go far enough.

“I think, frankly, outdoor-mask mandates should just go, regardless of whether you’re vaccinated,” Wen replied. “I actually think outdoor mask mandates can go, but I also think we can do a lot more with, specifically, incentivizing vaccination, including allowing businesses to come back at full capacity if they are checking for proof of vaccination.”

Watch above via CNN.

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