Senator Collins’ Statement on CDC’s Updated Mask Guidance

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued this statement following the release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new guidelines that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks in most indoor and outdoor settings:

“In order for Americans to have confidence in the CDC guidance, it has to be up to date and not dictated by politics.  We need people to trust the CDC so that they follow the guidance that makes sense.  Otherwise it is even harder to encourage hesitant people to get the vaccine.  In addition, if people find they cannot do anything differently after a vaccine, they will not see the benefit in getting vaccinated.

“As I said to the CDC director at a public hearing earlier this week, the CDC’s guidance on masks was not consistent with the overwhelming scientific evidence.  Today’s announcement on masks, while overdue, is certainly a step in the right direction, and I am pleased to see the CDC finally take action to align its guidance with the recommendations of scientific experts.”

On Tuesday, Senator Collins pressed the CDC director on the agency’s conflicting and confusing recommendations for outdoor masks, school reopenings, and summer camps.

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