U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday that people can't dine indoors even after getting vaccinated for COVID.
The Blaze said that Fauci was asked by MSNBC Host Mehdi Hasan on his "message for vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans" in terms of what they should and shouldn't be doing now. Hasan zoned in on "eating and drinking indoors in restaurants and bars" to which Fauci negatively responded.
"No, it's still not OK for the simple reason that the level of infection, the dynamics of infection in the community, are still really disturbingly high. Like, just yesterday, there were close to 80,000 new infections, and we've been hanging around 60,000, 70,000, 75,000," Fauci said during the interview.
Fauci said with the rising COVID-19 cases across America, Americans should continue wearing masks whether one is vaccinated or not to prevent the virus' transmission. He also said that vaccinated people have the possibility of transmitting the virus to others.
"If you're not vaccinated, please get vaccinated as soon as a vaccine becomes available to you, and if you are vaccinated, please remember that you still have to be careful and not get involved in crowded situations, particularly indoors where people are not wearing masks," he stressed. "And for the time being, until we show definitively that a person who's vaccinated does not get this subclinical infection and can spread to others, you should also continue to wear a mask."
In an interview with Business Insider, Fauci revealed that he personally won't dine in restaurants nor watch a movie in a theater. He said he won't go to "indoor, crowded" places "where people are not wearing masks." Fauci's interview with the Business Insider took place after he completed his vaccine.
Fauci said he rather host gatherings at home where he would feel comfortable with neighbors even with no mask and can "have physical contact."
The Business Insider said Fauci would also not be traveling soon despite being vaccinated already because of "'interesting crossroads' at which the U.S. sits," referring to the possibility of having "another surge."
The Insider pointed out that Fauci's behavior aligns with the guidelines set by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in terms of the continued use of masks in public places alongside avoidance of medium to large size people gatherings. Fauci insists that all Americans continue to avoid crowds, practice social distancing, and wear masks just to ensure vaccinated people won't spread the virus even though "growing evidence suggests they don't."
In addition, Fauci told the Insider that Americans may start experiencing some normalcy by the end of summer based on studies that vaccinated people are "unlikely to spread the virus." The said study, conducted by Pfizer and Moderna, show that their vaccines prevent symptomatic and asymptomatic (94%) infections two weeks after full administration.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights in its website that exposure to someone who has the virus for 15 minutes would actually entail one to be quarantined. As such they highly discourage large events and gatherings considering the "extremely high" cases of COVID "across the United States." Wearing masks, staying socially distanced at least six feet apart, and "staying home" is what they highly recommend.
