“You are telling everyone to wear a mask, regardless of whether they have had an infection or a vaccine,” said Paul to Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “If the people who got the vaccine or had the infection … if we are not spreading the infection, is it not just theater?” Asked Paul.
“Here we go again with the theater. Let’s get right to the facts,” replied Fauci. “Let me just note that the masks are not theater. The masks are protective.”
Fauci noted earlier that vaccinated people can still inhale the virus, have it in their nose or throat without causing infection, and breathe, cough or sneeze the infectious virus on other people. People can also be reinfected after recovery, although this is uncommon.
“And you don’t keep the concept of variants. This is a totally different game,” added Fauci.
“This is a good reason for a mask.”
New variants of the virus, such as variant B.1.1.7 seen for the first time in Great Britain and variant B.1.351 seen for the first time in South Africa, are spreading more widely and can prevent the immune response caused by a previous infection. Fauci noted that at least one study showed that people in South Africa who were infected with older strains of coronavirus had almost no immune protection against B.1.351.
“You are not listening to what I am saying about the variants,” said Fauci.
“You were vaccinated and paraded with two masks to show off,” replied Paul, who is an ophthalmologist. “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,” Paul said.
“I totally disagree with you,” said Fauci.