White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her Thursday press conference that social distancing and mask-wearing is still necessary for Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
"What we are also trying to do is make sure our medical experts are available to ensure people understand, and I'll reiterate it here today, it's not just a vaccine, it's obviously an incredible medical breakthrough and we want every American to have one," Psaki said.
"But even after you're vaccinated, social distancing, wearing masks are gonna be essential, and we'll need to continue communicating about that through medical experts."
The supposed need to continue wearing masks and social distancing after receiving the vaccine has raised questions as to when such measures can finally be abandoned by the general population.
Such questions have been compounded by confusing and contradictory messaging from health experts on the percentage of the population which needs to be vaccinated to acquire herd immunity.
Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted in December to intentionally misrepresenting and steadily increasing the number of vaccinations required to establish herd immunity.
"When polls said only about half of all Americans would take a vaccine, I was saying herd immunity would take 70 to 75 percent. Then, when newer surveys said 60 percent or more would take it, I thought, 'I can nudge this up a bit,' so I went to 80, 85," he said.
