Fauci Addresses Mask Guidelines for Vaccinated People: ‘Risk Is Extremely Low,’ ‘Full Stop’
Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed some of the questions surrounding the CDC’s new mask guidance for vaccinated people on MSNBC Monday night.
Chris Hayes opened his show talking about the new guidelines and the “confusion” surrounding them, and one of the things he asked Fauci was about whether the messaging was off.
Given recent reporting about when the White House was made aware of the CDC’s decision, Hayes asked, “Is this the kind of thing that maybe there should be a little more coordination on?”
“Obviously you could argue about whether or not there should have been more planning about it and discussing about it,” Fauci responded, “but the one thing is true that what you’re seeing now that you didn’t see before was a considerable degree of independence on the decision-making process based on the science. That’s the good news.”
He affirmed that “the fundamental basis upon which the decision was made was a sound scientific basis.”
Hayes also sought some clarity on the risks people face now when you’re vaccinated.
He brought up parts of a recent op-ed on the new guidelines and said, “What I’m hearing from you is kind of the first paragraph, that, like, if you’re vaccinated, you really don’t need to worry about getting it in a way that’s serious or transmitting it.”
“That is true. That is correct, Chris,” Fauci said.
The CDC is a science-basea institution, and when they make recommendations based on the science, often they get criticized that they don’t come out and make a recommendation because they’re waiting for all the dots — the T’s to be crossed and the I’s to be dotted about it. And now when we say we have more cumulative information, it’s very clear, and that’s the reason why I’m on the show talking to you about it, to help to clarify it. You’re absolutely right. You said it correctly. The risk is extremely low of getting infected, of getting sick, or of transmitting it to anyone else. Full stop.
You can watch above, via MSNBC.
