Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Tuesday the Chinese coronavirus could be “just a few mutations” away from evading vaccines.
Speaking on Tuesday following her agency’s decision to surrender, reversing course and recommending vaccinated people to begin to wear masks again in certain indoor settings and areas, Walensky said they are concerned by the virus’s variants and believe they could potentially “evade” the vaccines down the road.
“The largest concern that I think we in public health and sciences are worried about is that virus and potential mutations … [have] the potential to evade our vaccine in terms of how it protects us from severe disease and death,” Walensky said at Tuesday’s press briefing.
However, she said that is currently not the case, proclaiming that current vaccines “operate really well in protecting us from severe disease and death.”
“But the big concern is that the next variant that might emerge — just a few mutations potentially away — could potentially evade our vaccines,” she said.
It remains unclear how she reconciles that position — that the vaccines “operate really well” — with the agency reversing course on vaccinated individuals, urging them to mask up.
The White House was also unable to explain that discrepancy.
“If vaccines work…then why do people who have the vaccine need to now wear masks?” Peter Doocy of Fox News asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday.
“The public health leaders in our administration have made the determination, based on data, that that is a way to make sure they’re protected,” she said.
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Despite the warning that the virus could eventually evade vaccines, big-government Democrats continue to pitch vaccines as the only way to return to a state of normalcy, although their actions this week suggest otherwise. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) went as far as calling to knock on doors, put unvaccinated people in cars, and drive them to “get that vaccine in their arm.”
Walensky’s warning came as the Biden administration surrendered to further pandemic restrictions, as the CDC altered guidance on masks and quietly shifted guidance on testing for fully vaccinated individuals.
“If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus], you should get tested 3-5 days after your exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms,” the CDC’s updated guidance reads.
“You should also wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. You should isolate for 10 days if your test result is positive,” it adds.
Previous guidance did not recommend vaccinated individuals to get a test after exposure as long as they were not exhibiting symptoms.
Republican lawmakers reacted harshly after the CDC’s announcement on Tuesday.
“Mass psychosis fueled by schizophrenia at NIH and CDC. How do you say the vaccines work while taking actions that show you don’t believe it?” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) told Breitbart News. “For what it’s worth, it looks like for most people the vaccines do work. Everyone should consult their own doctor—and ignore Dr. Fauci.”
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) told Breitbart News, “The American people have had enough of Biden and Fauci’s fake science.”
“This decision is nothing more than an example of outrageous government overreach that will infringe on our rights, threaten our businesses, and keep children falling behind at school,” he said, asking, “How many more times will we allow this administration to move the goalposts and stunt our recovery from the pandemic?”
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appeared to concur, telling Breitbart News that Biden’s mask mandate seeks to enforce a “perpetual pandemic state.”