Fauci calls mask mandates ‘understandable,’ but CDC guidelines ‘still hold’

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday that the return of local mask mandates due to the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 is “quite understandable,” but stopped short of saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s should reverse current guidance regarding mask-wearing for vaccinated people.

“The general CDC guidelines still hold, that you do not need to wear a mask indoors if, in fact, you’ve been vaccinated,” the White House chief medical adviser told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. “But what’s very clear is that at the local level, in the trenches as it were,” Fauci went on, “you’re seeing individual situations where the level of infection is so high and the level in the community of vaccination might be low … And I think we’re seeing and will see more and more of that because we certainly are seeing a surge in cases with the delta variant, which is now dominating in this country … So it’s quite understandable why local authorities are now saying, ‘Good that you’re vaccinated, but in a situation where you have people indoors, particularly crowded, you should wear a mask.'”