National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it will still be necessary to social distance, wear masks after a coronavirus vaccine becomes available.
Jake Tapper said, “Once somebody has been immunized … Once the process is complete, does that mean they can take off their mask, don’t have to social distance, and go about their lives as before?”
Fauci said, “I would recommend that is not the case. I would recommend you have an added area of protection. Obviously, with 90 plus percent effective vaccine, you could feel much more confident, but I would recommend to people to not abandon all public health measures just because you’ve been vaccinated.”
He added, “Even though for the general population, it might be 90 to 95% effective, you don’t necessarily know for you how effective it is. So when I get vaccinated, which I hope to when it becomes my turn to get vaccinated, I’m not going to abandon completely public health measures. I could feel more relaxed and essentially not having the stringency we have right now.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN