Dr. Anthony Fauci said the newly updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for fully vaccinated people has helped him feel more comfortable being seen without a mask while indoors, and that prior to it he “didn’t want to look like I was giving mixed signals.” His comments come as the agency takes heat for the timing of its mask update, with some questioning if it was politically motivated.
Fauci, and the agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, have repeatedly stated that the update was based on science.
“I am now much more comfortable in people seeing me indoors without a mask, before the CDC made the recommendation change, I didn’t want to look like I was giving mixed signals,” Fauci said Tuesday on Good Morning America, as to why he continued to wear a mask indoors before the update. “But being a fully vaccinated person, the chances of my getting infected in an indoor setting is extremely low and that’s the reason why in indoor settings now I feel comfortable about not wearing a mask because I’m fully vaccinated.”