Sen. Cruz on new CDC guidance: Finally 'following the science, not playing politics'
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reacts to new CDC guidance that fully vaccinated people may go without masks in most places
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz gave his initial reaction to the CDC's new guidance that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors on "America Reports," Thursday, and said "it's about damn time."
SEN. TED CRUZ: It's about damn time that we should be following the science and not playing politics. And from the beginning of COVID, there's been far too much politics connected to it.
Look, when it comes to masks, I've never understood the extreme on either side. I've never been one of those people who said, 'Never wear a mask.' I would wear a mask on an airplane, when I went to a grocery store, particularly when the pandemic was raging.
But once I got my vaccine, once other people were getting vaccinated, I stopped wearing masks.
And I got to say, I think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been playing politics with COVID-19, and they've been playing politics by keeping schools shut down. The science is absolutely clear. Kids should be in school, in-person today. The science is unequivocal on that…
But they also are playing politics on masks, that it never made any sense once you were vaccinated to wear a mask. And unfortunately, Biden and Harris and the administration kept saying, wear a mask, wear masks, wear a mask, even if you're vaccinated. That discouraged a lot of people from getting the vaccine.
So I think the message people ought to hear is: Get the vaccine, stop the spread of the disease. It ought to be voluntary, but you should be encouraged to get the vaccine.
And one of the great virtues, when you get the vaccine, you can take the damn mask off and return to regular life. That should encourage millions more people to choose to get the vaccine.