Donald Trump doesn't shy away from contradicting his own health officials if their statements do not coincide with his remarks. Living up to his reputation, the president once again denied coronavirus statements of his health officials, who spoke about the importance of wearing masks and the timing of a vaccine.
The president went on to suggest that the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Director Dr. Robert Redfield was confused in his congressional testimony. On Wednesday, Redfield touted masks as more effective protection against COVID-19 than any potential vaccine that Trump keeps talking about.
Aside from that, Redfield laid out a timeline for when Americans could expect to start seeing results of the coronavirus vaccination in the second or third quarter of 2021. Those statements both do not coincide with what the president has been saying.
Touting mask as more effective protection against the deadly virus, Redfield said covering face with a mask is more likely to protect people than taking COVID vaccines. He went to explain that the immunogenicity maybe 70 percent, and if the person taking the vaccine doesn't get an immune response, the vaccine is not going to protect them.
"This face mask will," he told lawmakers during public testimony. He also pointed out that the American public has not yet embraced the use of masks to a level that could effectively control the spread of the deadly pathogen.
Trump responded to Redfield's congressional testimony by criticizing the doctor, who he appointed to spearhead the CDC. He went a step further and contradicted Redfield on two accounts including the timeline of coronavirus vaccine, and the effectiveness of face masks as compared with inoculation, CNN reported.
Speaking about the availability of the vaccine to the general public, Redfield told the Senate Appropriations Committee that he thinks the American public will be able to take advantage of the vaccine to get back to their regular lives in the late second quarter, or third quarter of 2021. The president told reporters Redfield was confused when he said that.
Noting that Redfield made a mistake when he said that, Trump insisted whatever the doctor said was just incorrect information. On top of that, he said Redfield's comments to Congress about masks being more effective than a vaccine were wrong, adding that he may have misunderstood the question.
Redfield said that a COVID-19 vaccine will help Americans get back to everyday life. He explained that until the vaccine is made available to everyone, wearing a mask, washing hands, social distancing, and avoiding crowds is the best defense they currently have against the virus.