Jennifer Garner Celebrates "Exciting" Mask-Free Guidelines During School Visit With Dr. Jill Biden

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After ex-husband Ben Affleck went on a news-making Montana getaway, Jennifer Garner is taking a little trip of her own.

The Yes Day actress joined First Lady Dr. Jill Biden on a trip to West Virginia on Thursday, May 13, to celebrate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines that allow fully-vaccinated Americans to go mask-free indoors or outdoors and without social distancing.

Both mask-less, she and Biden spoke at Capital High School in her home state to encourage teens to get their COVID-19 shots. On Wednesday, May 12, the CDC announced that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is safe for kids aged 12 to 15.

"We are thrilled to just be getting back to normal. It's so exciting," Garner said at the podium. "I kind of can't believe I'm standing here without a mask on, looking at mask-less faces."

She continued, "President [Joe] Biden said he would get us vaccinated. And, boy, did he mean it."

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The Alias alum went on, "The most important thing we can do is get this virus behind us. In order to do that, we've got to get anyone with vaccine hesitancy into these chairs and get a shot into their arms."

Jennifer Garner, Jill Biden, Mark Shriver
Jennifer Garner, Jill Biden, Mark Shriver

Garner said she is "thrilled" to soon vaccinate two of the three children she shares with Affleck: 15-year-old Violet and 12-year-old Seraphina. (Their son Samuel, 9, is too young to qualify).

"I don't even know if they know it yet, but they know it now. It's happening," she said. "I cannot wait. It couldn't happen any sooner. I wish they were here right now."

As Biden put it in her speech, "Things are getting better every day. Vaccinated friends and family are able to take off their masks, which we just learned."

Jennifer Garner, Jill Biden, Mark Shriver, Gayle Manchin, Joe Manchin
Jennifer Garner, Jill Biden, Mark Shriver, Gayle Manchin, Joe Manchin

Per the New York Post, a group of junior Reserve Officer Training Corps officers greeted the first lady and Hollywood star when they arrived at the high school, with Biden remarking, "I know you just want to see Jennifer Garner."

The mom of three responded, "They've seen me their whole lives! Thank you for your service, kids."