Sen. Ted Cruzâs (R-Texas) moment with a reporter asking if he would put his face mask on is going viral.
âWould you mind putting on a mask for us?â a reporter asked Cruz during a Senate presser on Wednesday.
The senator replied, âYeah, when Iâm talking to the TV camera, Iâm not going to wear a mask. All of us have been immunized, soâŚâ
âItâd make us feel better,â the reporter responded.
Cruz then added, âYouâre welcome to step away if youâd like. The whole point of the vaccineâ CDC guidance is what weâre following.â
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1374875375294164994
Cruz later responded to the video of his interaction, tweeting, âLefty reporters have lost their minds. #commonsense.â
MSNBC reported on Cruzâs remarks, saying he ignored U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines during the moment. Dr. Nahid Bhadelia noted that unless everyone else in the room is vaccinated, Cruz is ânot following CDC guidance.â
âWe do know vaccines reduce transmission, but given everything we know about the number of people that still need to get vaccinatedâ and the different COVID-19 variants, it is âjust good public health exampleâ to continue wearing a mask, Bhadelia said.
The CDC advises that âfully vaccinated people can gather indoors without physical distancing or wearing masksâ with others who are fully vaccinated or âunvaccinated people from one other household, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.â
However, the CDC recommends, âuntil more is known, fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart from other people in other settings, like when they are in public or visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households.â
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been vocal about whether vaccinated people should continue to wear a mask, previously grilling Dr. Anthony Fauci on the topic, as IJR reported on.
