Dr. Anthony Fauci stated Tuesday that it would be “reasonable and understandable” for businesses to keep a mask requirement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 5 days prior on Thursday that fully vaccinated people rarely need to wear masks.
“If you look at the science that evolved over the last few weeks that prompted the CDC to make the recommendations that people who were vaccinated should feel safe and be able to go indoors and outdoors without wearing a mask relates to the evidence of how effective these vaccines are,” Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday in a conversation with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. “Not only in protecting you against infection, but even if you have a breakthrough infection, the chances of you transmitting to someone else is extremely low.” 
Fauci also recognized that the CDC’s recommendation for fully vaccinated people to stop wearing masks in most situations has caused some “confusion” in how the nation ought to proceed. (RELATED: ‘Too Risky’: Progressives Are Upset CDC Lifted Mask Mandate)
“And I think that’s where the confusion arises because there are some establishments who are saying, ‘Well, I’m going to have people coming into my establishment, my store or what have you, some are going to be vaccinated and some are not. I’m not going to know the difference, some might be infected and might actually have a risk of infecting someone else,'” he continued.
“And under those circumstances it’s perfectly reasonable and understandable for the owner of that establishment to say, ‘You know, we’re going to keep the mask mandate up.'”
Fauci noted that the mask requirement would protect unvaccinated people from each other and that the vaccine could offer greater protection.
He also said that children — including those who are under 12 — should continue to mask indoors, but also noted that more CDC research could change that recommendation.