Dr. Marc Siegel analyzes media coverage on masks
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel pushes back on ‘politics of fear’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
After over a year of sacrifice, America is finally turning the corner in the fight against COVID-19. Many Americans went months without seeing members of their own families for fear of spreading the virus.
Meanwhile, anti-science, Democrat-led lockdowns killed jobs and businesses nationwide. Thanks to Operation Warp Speed – President Donald Trump’s groundbreaking vaccine development program – and the Republican-led Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time for this crisis to end, and it’s time for the masks to come off.
Unfortunately, some Democratic leaders don’t seem to agree.
Let’s be abundantly clear: President Joe Biden’s own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks.
FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE CAN DITCH MASKS INDOORS, PHYSICAL DISTANCING: CDC
Their website even goes so far as to say that vaccinated people can fully "resume activities [they] did" prior to the pandemic. Of course, this is just common sense.
Masks were recommended as a way to stop the spread of the airborne COVID-19 virus, and vaccinated people cannot spread the virus. Hence, masks are no longer necessary.
Politicians like Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have told us for months to "follow the science" in fighting the pandemic. They were also among the first Americans to be vaccinated.
Why, then, have Biden and Pelosi refused to take their masks off? In late April, Biden caught flak for wearing a mask on a virtual zoom call with other world leaders, none of whom wore masks.
The images of a masked Biden – sitting alone and beamed in via webcam – sent a terrible message about America’s recovery from the pandemic.
It’s time for this crisis to end, and it’s time for the masks to come off
For our vaccinated president to eschew the guidance of his own scientists on the international stage makes our leadership look weak, disjointed, and fundamentally ignorant about the strides the world has made in conquering COVID-19.
More recently, Pelosi gave a masterclass in anti-science hypocrisy during her May 20th press briefing. She approached the lectern masked, and expressed shock that the gathered mask-less reporters were following CDC guidance.
FAUCI SAYS FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE ‘DON’T HAVE TO WEAR A MASK OUTSIDE'
She then went a step further, saying that vaccinated members of Congress who refused to wear masks would be denied access to the House floor. Then, just hours after her anti-science tirade, she appeared at a White House event totally unmasked, normally interacting with a large group of other vaccinated politicians.
Of course, hypocrisy from Pelosi is nothing new. This is the Congresswoman who got her hair done without a mask at the height of the pandemic, even as she championed lockdown policies in her home state of California.
This hypocrisy is not unique to Washington, as Democratic governors like Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan and Gavin Newsom in California have also famously violated their own COVID orders.
But it’s not just the hypocrisy: Democrat failures to follow the science have far-reaching impacts on Americans everywhere.
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After months of hard sacrifice, Americans deserve clear and coherent guidance on how to return to normal life, not politically weighed decrees. By wearing masks with other world leaders and in front of press--only to remove them when convenient--Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Democrats are failing to send a clear message about our nation’s recovery.
We have worked too hard and sacrificed too much for Democrats to fumble the ball on the one-yard line. We have missed funerals, graduations, weddings, and valuable time with our loved ones.
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Our kids lost out on important, formative time in school – too many of which remain closed – in another example of Democrats’ failure to follow the science.
Democrats who refuse to accept that the COVID-19 crisis is over are spreading fear and confusion. Maybe they’re worried about losing political leverage when normal life returns. Maybe they’re just fundamentally incapable of being straight and sincere with the American people.
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Either way, Americans deserve better.
Joe and Nancy, you got President Trump’s vaccine. It’s time to take off the masks.