Fact-checking of Biden’s claim about mask warrants and vaccination rates

Speaking from the East Room with a mask in hand, Biden said, “In a significant part of the country you wouldn’t have to take one off because you don’t have to put one on. home state of Delaware, where I lived in New Castle County, where I was yesterday in Pennsylvania. Because people have been vaccinated. They have been vaccinated. They don’t need a mask while the majority, the vast majority of people have been vaccinated.

The facts first: Just because you live in an area where the majority of people have been vaccinated does not mean that you “don’t need a mask” in certain situations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest mask guidelines are based on the level of transmission and the rate of Covid-19 cases in an area, not specifically the vaccination rate, which Biden later noted in his remarks .

To be fair to Biden, some of the places with the highest vaccination rates, like Vermont, also have low case rates and fall under the category of moderate or low transmission areas which the CDC says do not have. no need for masks. However, there are several regions, including the District of Columbia, where more than 50% of the population is vaccinated, but the case rates are high enough that the CDC recommends that even those vaccinated wear masks in indoor public spaces. .