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mixed messaging on mass
the white house reportedly weighing
whether it should shift guidance on
being massed up
even if you're vaccinated i'm digging
mcdowell in for kennedy tonight
remember the white house's simple
springtime message
it's vaxxed or masked
well it's a bit more complicated now
isn't it top biden officials are
reportedly having talks about whether
they should urge
vaccinated americans to return to mask
wearing
one idea being considered is asking
people to wear masks when vaccinated and
unvaccinated folks are together indoors
or
out in public places white house press
secretary jen
sake today shooting down those reports
insisting there was no decision
made to change the face mask policy she
went on to say any changes would come
directly from the cdc
not the white house take a listen
a lot of people got the vaccine because
they were hearing him say if you get the
vaccine
you don't have to wear masks anymore so
and that continues to be cdc guidance
and
you can say that that's going to be the
guidance forever i am not the cdc
director
but last night the president did address
masking guidance for school kids
the cdc is going to say that what you
should do is
everyone over the age of under the age
of 12
should probably be wearing a mask in
school that's probably what's going to
happen
so what happened to president biden's
message that the u.s is close to
independence from the virus
and will mask be making a comeback even
for young children
and the fully vaccinated here with me to
break it all down fox news medical
correspondent author of covid the
politics of fear
and the power of science dr mark siegel
dr siegel how does it encourage the
unvaccinated to get vaccinated by making
everybody wear a mask
and what about the benefit of being
vaccinated for all those people
i said on the five tonight speaking on
behalf of all
vaccinated americans and those with
antibodies
bite me
well first of all degan you added the
last part that has to be mentioned what
about those with antibodies those who
have gotten over covet
they've been excluded from any
conversation whatsoever and many of them
i can't
even give the vaccine to yet and maybe i
want to give one shot
instead of two those have to be included
and it's the politics of fear isn't it
suddenly where we want everyone to think
well we're vaccinated but we've got to
wear a mask again
which again as you were implying takes
away the idea that the vaccine gets you
any freedom and we want our freedom back
because
we're so beat up and we're so full of
anxiety from
a year and a half now of this pandemic
we want to exit the pandemic
and most of us understand how valuable
the vaccine is towards that
exit there's a huge difference between
vaccines and masks
the vaccine is incredibly effective the
mask
adds something especially if you're
unvaccinated that difference has to be
kept in people's minds
we need clarity here not confusion not
the government constantly with the stick
and with threats and with mandates the
whole problem here is mandates
i can sit here and tell you where i
think a mass should be used
my problem is with the word mandate
right if a
private business owner tells me that i
um they want me to wear a mask
in their establishment i will certainly
do that
but in terms of mandating how does that
in any way shape or form convince people
who have yet to get the vaccine
to get vaccinated because the fumbling
and
bumbling and nonsense coming out of this
white house
they could it makes no sense and
actually
makes people more nervous than not dr
siegel they could have used the texas
democrats
going to washington covett is spreading
kamala harris exposed to it she tested
uh
negative they could have used that as a
moment to say
this is a non-event this is why you get
vaccinated nobody is really sick
but they didn't do it and they're kind
of like twiddling their thumbs at this
point
imagine if it had been republicans
digging on that plane they'd call it a
super spreader event
in five seconds right but because it's
democrats they don't wanna they don't
wanna wear
shame on that but shame is the problem
isn't it it's that
people are being shamed and bullied and
i have to tell you
i thought last night that the president
had a more humble tone
and i think that's where he needs to go
first he should he should praise the
prior administration for bringing this
vaccine
this incredible tool he hasn't done that
once don't hold
your breath on that but we need a
humbleness we need an idea that we're in
it together we need an
idea of people the one line he said last
night that i want to repeat is
that a teen that sees their friends
getting the vaccine
and saying i did okay that's how you get
someone else to take the vaccine not by
mandating anything
not by threatening masks not by the
government
constantly getting too involved here and
i agree with your point about the
business owner too i've thought about
that a lot today
because a business may say there's a
legal issue here i want to be protected
there's people here that are
unvaccinated vaccinated maybe in a mall
they actually want the mall may say
we want you to wear a mask i respect
that the government has no business
being there
dr siegel great to see you as always we
will see you very soon