Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield warned Congress this week that it could take six to nine months after approval to get enough people vaccinated to control the pandemic. President Trump has promised a vaccine fast, but Redfield said the U.S. will struggle to distribute an eventual vaccine. Redfield also offered a bridge between now and vaccine availability:
- “[F]ace masks are the most important, powerful public health tool we have.”
- “[W]e have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defense.”
- “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID-19 than when I take a COVID-19 vaccine, because the immunogenicity might be 70%, and if I don’t get an immune response, the vaccine’s not going to protect me. This face mask will.”
- “I do want to keep asking the American public to take the responsibility — particularly the 18- to 25-year-olds. … because we haven’t got the acceptance of personal responsibility that we need for all Americans to embrace this face mask.”