White House distances Biden from CDC's latest flip-flop on masks

White House press secretary Jen Psaki attempted on Tuesday to distance President Joe Biden's past comments on vaccines and masks from the new, forthcoming guidance handed down by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that some vaccinated people should still wear masks in public.

The new guidance is expected to instruct vaccinated individuals in areas with a rolling average of more than 50 cases per 100,000 residents to wear masks in public, indoor areas. The guidance is also expected to instruct any students, teachers, or staff working in K-12 schools to wear masks at all times while on campus.

CDC TO RECOMMEND SOME VACCINATED PEOPLE WEAR MASKS INDOORS

"We have said, since the beginning of June, that the delta variant from the beginning had a greater deal of transmissibility and was a threat to people who were unvaccinated," Psaki told reporters in Tuesday's White House press briefing.

Psaki claimed that the CDC's "job is to look at evolving information, evolving data, an evolving historic pandemic, and provide guidance to the American public. That's exactly what they will do and what they will provide specific details on later this afternoon."

Pressed on Biden's comments announcing the May CDC guidance update, in which he emphatically stated that vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks in public, Psaki stressed that the president also "made clear that it was not over, that those who were unvaccinated were still at risk."

"He made clear that you are protected from serious illness, disease, or hospitalization if you were vaccinated," she continued. "That remains the case, and he encouraged people who were not vaccinated to get vaccinated, but again, the role of the federal government and our public health officials is to continue to look at evolving data, evolving threats of a historic virus, provide that public health guidance to the American people to protect more people and save more lives.

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You can watch Tuesday's entire briefing below.

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Tags: News, Joe Biden, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus, Vaccination, Face masks, Jen Psaki, White House, Delta Varient

Original Author: Christian Datoc

Original Location: White House distances Biden from CDC's latest flip-flop on masks