CDC official on mask-wearing: Unvaccinated people need to be honest with themselves

WASHINGTON / CNN — The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday that people have to be honest with themselves when deciding whether to wear a mask after the agency lifted requirements for vaccinated people.

The CDC last week updated its guidance for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to say they generally do not need to wear a mask, with some exceptions. The update also said that people still need to wear a mask if they are unvaccinated.

“I think that people who were not inclined to wear a mask were not inclined to wear a mask before Thursday,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said when asked if she trusted that people would wear a mask if they were unvaccinated.

“What we’re really asking in those settings, is to say, in terms of the honor system, people have to be honest with themselves,” Walensky said. “You’re protected if you’re vaccinated, you’re not if you’re not vaccinated.”

Everyone taking their masks off will be a slow process, Walensky said, as not all communities are the same — with some having high levels of vaccinations and others still showing high case rates.

“I want to convey that we are not saying that everybody has to take off their mask if they’re vaccinated,” Walensky said. “It’s been 16 months that we’ve been telling people to mask and this is going to be a slow process.”

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