Becerra: Fully Vaccinated Offices Should Wear Masks Because We ‘Want You to Be as Safe as Possible’

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra stated that people in offices where everyone has been vaccinated should wear masks because while if you’re vaccinated, you’re “obviously far safer. We still want you to be as safe as possible.” And “to be safe, you could end up being a carrier and not know it and if somebody hasn’t been vaccinated or doesn’t wear a mask, guess what, there’s still that potential of getting COVID.”

Co-host John Berman asked, “For people who are all vaccinated, if you work in a vaccinated workplace, there’s still a mask mandate. Who are you protecting if everyone’s vaccinated by wearing a mask?”

Becerra responded, “So, we’re trying to make sure that the guidance that is put out there by the federal government is one that really focuses on safety. We can’t mandate people do certain things, but we can certainly give them the best advice possible. And the guidance that the federal government has put out is for your safety. Wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, crucial, if you haven’t done either — or if you’re not doing either one of those two, you’re in real trouble. But if you’ve been vaccinated, you’re obviously far safer. We still want you to be as safe as possible. That’s why the indoor policy should still be masking. But clearly, if you’ve been vaccinated fully and you’re with folks who are also vaccinated, John, the risk does diminish dramatically. But, again, to be safe, you could end up being a carrier and not know it and if somebody hasn’t been vaccinated or doesn’t wear a mask, guess what, there’s still that potential of getting COVID.”

Berman then asked, “I am vaccinated and the people in this office are also vaccinated. So, my safety, I don’t think, is being particularly impacted by wearing a mask. If someone else is not vaccinated, it might be their safety that’s being affected. So, there [are] two issues here: Number one, is that my concern anymore that someone who’s chosen to be unvaccinated is making a bad choice? And question two is, maybe there should be laws that allow them to be kept out of the building?”

Becerra responded, “Well, you’ve hit right on the point, John. How do we get to a point where we get everyone to be as safe as possible? You know, it was always difficult to get people on motorcycles to wear helmets for their own safety. It was tough, at times, to get people to wear seat belts for their own safety. What we’re simply saying is, the best guidance from those who are the experts in health care is be as safe as possible by wearing a mask, even if you’re vaccinated. But yeah, if you’re vaccinated, you’re around people who are vaccinated, clearly, you’re going to be far better off. It’s a matter of just — it’s a matter of being — using common sense, John. And I can’t tell you more than that, other than we want every American to be safe and we want every American to get vaccinated. And the more we do that, the more we can say, every American can stop having to worry about wearing a mask.”

(h/t James Surowiecki)

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