CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed the White House COVID-19 response coordinator on why people need to continue wearing masks when they are fully vaccinated.
“Is it really necessary for a fully vaccinated person to wear a mask at a limited indoor gathering if everyone there is vaccinated?” Tapper asked Jeff Zients Sunday on State of the Union, pointing to events where Joe Biden meets with journalists while wearing a mask.
Zients cited health-safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising people, even those who are vaccinated, to exercise caution.
“The CDC has given guidance that when you’re with family and friends that are vaccinated in small groups, you don’t need a mask,” he responded.
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Tapper also asked why Biden is still wearing a mask “in a room full of vaccinated journalists, with everybody in that room vaccinated?”
The White House coronavirus response coordinator again repeated that the administration would follow the CDC guidelines, pointing to a “July 4 deadline” on increasing vaccinations.
Zients said it was “a really good goal that the president has set of 70% of all Americans with at least their first shot by July 4.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci had previously pointed to July 4 as an estimated date but said the exact date would come down to when an “overwhelming” majority of the population gets vaccinated.
Tapper then theorized that more people would get vaccinated if they witnessed the administration, starting with Biden, going maskless.
“One of the reasons why journalists are annoyingly harping on this, and some health experts are, is because there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and President Biden being able to take off his mask in a room full of journalists and White House staffers, all of whom are fully vaccinated, is a demonstration that the vaccines work,” Tapper said.
He continued: “I think the concern is that by being overly cautious, the signal is going out to the public that there isn’t necessarily a light at the end of the tunnel.”
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Zients admitted “wearing a mask can be a pain” and said that he understands people are “tired” of doing so, but he encouraged people to comply with the orders.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter and brighter. [But] let’s keep up our guard, let’s follow the CDC guidance,” Zients said.
