Dr. Anthony Fauci told “CBS This Morning” on Friday that Senator Rand Paul is “completely wrong” after the two had a fierce showdown over wearing a mask during a Senate hearing. Fauci argues that Americans should continue to wear masks even after they are vaccinated against COVID-19 – something that Paul rejected as ‘theater’.
“Senator Paul has the message that we don’t need masks, which contradicts just about everything we know about how to prevent the virus from spreading,” Fauci, the nation’s foremost infectious disease expert, told CBS This Morning. . ‘
“He said if you’re infected, or you’ve been vaccinated, don’t wear a mask – that’s completely against all public health principles,” continued Fauci. So he’s completely wrong. I mean, I have nothing against him personally. But he’s just plain wrong. ‘
Paul, who was an ophthalmologist before entering politics, is one of Fauci’s loudest critics in Congress and regularly struggles with him during COVID-related hearings. They went there again on Thursday when the Kentucky Republican rejected the guideline for vaccinated people to continue wearing masks in public places.
Do you want to get rid of the hesitation about getting vaccinated? Tell them you can stop wearing your mask after they get the vaccine, ‘said Paul. “ You want people to get the vaccine, give them a reward instead of telling them the nanny state will be there for three more years and you’ll have to wear a mask forever. People don’t want to hear it. ‘
“Well, let me just say that masks are not theater,” Fauci replied. “Masks are protective.”
“If you have immunity, they are theater,” said Paul. “If you already have immunity, you wear a mask to comfort others.”
“I don’t agree with you at all,” Fauci said to him.
Fauci explained that masks can help protect against coronavirus variants that are spreading rapidly in the US and could potentially lead to reinfection in people who already had the virus. Researchers are still studying how well current vaccines will protect against the emerging variants.
Fauci has previously said that it is “possible” that Americans will continue to wear masks until 2022. Doctors have pointed out that vaccinated people are possible still spreading COVID, even if they are protected from its symptoms.
The CDC recommends that fully vaccinated Americans continue to wear masks in public, although it says they may have maskless indoor visits with other vaccinated people and with unvaccinated people from one household who have a low risk of the serious COVID disease.