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CDC Director Claims Face Masks Are ‘More Guaranteed’ To Protect Him Than A COVID-19 Vaccine

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(Screenshot/Twitter: Public User @breaking911)

Phillip Nieto Contributor
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield claimed during his congressional testimony on Wednesday that his face mask was “more guaranteed” to protect him from COVID-19 than a vaccine.

Redfield testified before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday, claiming that face masks were the most “important, powerful public health tool” in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and adding he thought masks were more likely to protect him from COVID-19 than a vaccine due to “immunogenicity” concerns. (RELATED: CDC Director Robert Redfield Breaks With Trump Administration On Coronavirus Vaccine Timeline)

“I may go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine, because the immunogenicity may be 70 percent, and if I don’t get an immune response the vaccine is not going to protect me. This face mask will,” Redfield said.

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The CDC director also broke ranks with President Donald Trump on the expected vaccine timeline, saying it was unlikely a vaccine would appear until roughly halfway through 2021. Other administration officials, including senior Department of Homeland Security official Paul Mango, have said the vaccine would be made available much earlier.

“If you’re asking me when is it going to be available to the American public,” Redfield said. “I think we’re probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021.” (RELATED: ‘Went Too Far’: NYT Reporter Calls For CDC Director To Resign, Sparking His Employer To Speak Out)

The president claimed during his ABC Townhall on Tuesday that a vaccine would be completed within three to four weeks.

Currently, there are over 6.5 million cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. resulting in 192,000 deaths, according to the Washington Post.