Dr Anthony Fauci has indicated that a change in the coronavirus’s health policy on the use of face masks is possible, but he remains reluctant to say exactly when it may be.
The use of face masks has remained a politicized issue since the first months of the pandemic, with debates over a national mask mandate dominating the conversation and continuing during the 2020 presidential election.
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Fauci told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the use and recommendations regarding face masks could soon change if the vaccination continues.
“This is something that, as we get more information, will backfire that you do not have to do,” Fauci said. “But the reason right now is that when you get vaccinated, you dramatically reduce the risk of getting infected.”
As he recently said, Fauci reiterated that the use of face masks by individuals, even after vaccination, was to stop the low – but still possible – asymptomatic spread of the virus: vaccines have about 95% efficacy, which means that ‘ n 5% to still become infected.
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Another concern is variants, such as the New York variant or the more worrying South African variant, which are more resistant to the vaccines.
Israel has shown that vaccinations can lead to a return to normalcy. The country abandoned its mandate for outdoor masks on Sunday after vaccinating about 80% of its adult population.
Meanwhile, tensions over face masks and other restrictions in the U.S. remain high, with Fauci and Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, battling over their use.
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Jordan on Thursday demanded that Fauci provide a timeline of when Americans “can regain their freedom.”
“When we get the infection level in this country low enough that it’s not really a big threat,” Fauci replied.
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Fauci would not specify which level would be considered low enough not to be a threat.