Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS This Morning on Friday that Senator Rand Paul is “totally wrong” after the two had a fierce confrontation over wearing a mask at a Senate hearing. Fauci argues that Americans should continue to wear masks even after vaccinated against COVID-19 – something that Paul dismissed as “theater”.
“Senator Paul has this message that we don’t need masks, which goes against everything we know about how to prevent the virus from spreading,” Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, told CBS This Morning.
“He was saying that if you were infected or vaccinated, don’t wear a mask – which is totally against all public health principles,” continued Fauci. “So he is completely wrong. I mean, I have nothing personally against him. But he is downright incorrect.”
Paul, who was an ophthalmologist before entering politics, is one of Fauci’s biggest critics in Congress and regularly argues with him during hearings related to COVID. They tried again on Thursday, when the Kentucky Republican rejected guidance for vaccinated people to continue wearing masks in public places.
“Do you want to get rid of the hesitation of the vaccine? Tell them that you can stop using your mask after they get the vaccine, ”said Paul. “You want people to get the vaccine, give them a reward instead of saying that the nanny state is going to last another three years and you have to wear a mask forever. People don’t want to hear that.”
“Well, let me just note that masks are not theater,” replied Fauci. “The masks are protective.”
“If you have immunity, they are theater,” said Paul. “If you already have immunity, you are wearing a mask to give comfort to others.”
“I totally disagree with you,” Fauci told him.
Fauci explained that masks can help protect against coronavirus variants which are spreading rapidly in the United States and can lead to the reinfection of people who have already had the virus. Researchers are still studying how well current vaccines will protect against emerging variants.
Fauci said earlier that it is “possible” that Americans need to continue wearing masks until 2022. Doctors pointed out that vaccinated people can still spreading COVID, even if they are protected against their symptoms.
The CDC recommends that fully vaccinated Americans continue to wear masks in public, although it says they may have unmasked internal visits with other vaccinated people and with unvaccinated people from a single household with a low risk of severe COVID disease.