Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a Friday segment of Fox News’s “Your World With Neil Cavuto” that it was “taken out of context” when he discussed the possibility that the masks could be used until 2022.
Fauci said “come on, let’s be serious” when asked by host Neil Cavuto about some of the criticisms he has received since making comments in an interview in February about CNN’s “State of the Union”. (RELATED: CNN’s Sanjay Gupta says it’s “unlikely” that there will be “a fourth significant increase” in coronavirus in the U.S.)
Cavuto began by noting criticism from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor Dr. Marty Makary to Fauci that he is being “very cautious” in his response to the pandemic with regard to collective immunity. Cavuto brought up Fauci’s comments about the masks, in which he told CNN’s Dana Bash that “it is possible” that Americans still wear masks in 2022, depending on the state of “normality” in relation to the pandemic and how you use it. define. He then asked Fauci if he was being so cautious as to make it “impossible” to get out of the pandemic mentality.
“Well, first of all, let me answer something that this person is saying, that he just didn’t understand anything,” replied Fauci. “He says that when I talk about herd immunity, I am only considering people who have been vaccinated. This is completely incorrect. “
He went on to say that herd immunity is an “illusory concept” because we do not know the percentage of people who have already been infected and are probably protected from the virus, in addition to the people who have been vaccinated. He added that the greater the number of this combined group of people, the closer we got to having “a protective cloak over the community”.
“Because we are very cautious, we want to make sure that when we make recommendations, we do it based on science,” he continued. “You could say that something is likely to be true, which is true. It is likely that if you are vaccinated you will not spread the infection if you are infected without any symptoms. There is no doubt about it. I understand this as well as anyone else. “
He then stated that since studies show that this is the case, people can stop wearing masks if they are vaccinated. He added that he wants to be conservative until then and wait until they get the data to prove it.
“But wearing masks in 2022, doctor? Do you still advocate that? “Cavuto jumped.
“Come on, let’s take this seriously. This was totally out of context. What was I saying – “Fauci replied before Cavuto jumped again asking,” Don’t you think you’re right? Don’t you think there should be masks in 2022? “
“We do not know. I’m not saying we’re going. If there is a big increase and the number of cases continues, it is conceivable that we will have to wear masks in 2022, ”said Fauci. “If we continue to vaccinate people and put the overwhelming majority of people together with those who have been infected and the level of infection decreases, it is very likely that it will not be necessary.
“We are playing this game here. You take a word or phrase that someone says and throw a jump in their face. No, I did not say definitively that, unquestionably, we will wear masks in 2022. I said that, under certain circumstances, it would be conceivable that we would have. But there are circumstances in which it may not be necessary ”, he concluded.