White House Staff Orders Vaccinated Reporters to ‘Mask Up’ Before Event with Kamala Harris

Staffers for Vice President Kamala Harris ordered reporters to put on masks before an event on voting rights Tuesday, signalling that mask mandates were back at the White House.

The White House press pool detailed the exchange with officials who noted that Washington, DC, had just issued new guidance regarding indoor mask use as the city fell within the Centers for Disease Control’s “moderate” transmission category.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky detailed the updated mask guidance in a press call on Tuesday afternoon.

“In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings, to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant and protect others – this includes schools,” she said.

The White Hosue reporters, who have all been fully vaccinated, put on masks supplied by the White House or used their own masks before entering the event with Harris.

After speaking at the event, Harris urged more Americans to get vaccinated, noting that the “only way” to end mandates was to get more people vaccinated.

“No one likes wearing masks… people need to get vaccinated,” she said. “That’s the only way we’re going to cut this off. Nobody likes wearing a mask.”