White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas reacted to Wednesday comments from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield during a Thursday evening appearance on Fox News’ “The Story.”
Redfield told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday that a COVID-19 vaccine would not be readily available to the public until midway through 2021. He also stressed that his face mask was “more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine.”
“Do you agree with him on that?” anchor Martha MacCallum asked Atlas.
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“No, that’s not the statement I was told by the people in HHS who are doing the vaccine deployment,” Atlas responded. “I just got the information directly from them yesterday before the press conference, so I’m not sure exactly what he meant or where he got his information. I’m not disagreeing with him, I don’t know who told him that. All I can go by is what I was told.”
MacCallum then asked Atlas about Redfield’s comments about masks.
“I hate to comment on somebody else’s statements, but that statement is just — I don’t know where that statement comes from,” he said. “I think it was taken out of context or maybe it was said inadvertently, but I don’t think anyone believes that. I really don’t think that Dr. Redfield believes that.”
“He was fairly deliberate in his statement,” MacCallum pressed. (RELATED: ‘Went Too Far’: NYT Reporter Calls For CDC Director To Resign, Sparking His Employer To Speak Out)
“I can’t really comment on why people say certain things,” Atlas said. “We all make missteps when we speak. The fact is that the vaccine is being developed so that life can get back to normal. This is obvious. This is common sense. Nobody would be developing a vaccine if it wasn’t needed.”
Although there is no evidence that face masks would be better than an effective vaccine, the CDC and the WHO both recommend the use of face masks to help control the spread of coronavirus.