Critics Tear Illinois Department Of Health Director Over False Quote Alleging “Masks Are As Effective As Vaccines”

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The director of the Illinois Department of Health reportedly recently said “masks are as effective as vaccines” as part of a campaign to crack down on the wearing of masks in schools.

“If we really want our kids to be in school for in-person learning, masking is great protection and our best bet,” Dr Ngozi Ezike reportedly said last Thursday, according to Chalkbeat. “At the end of the day, masks are as effective as vaccines.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health later told Fox News on Wednesday that Ezike was incorrectly quoted in the Chalkbeat article, and in fact said at a press conference last Thursday: ” If we really want our kids to be in school to learn in person, masking is great protection and our best bet. The bottom line is that masks are effective. Vaccines are effective. ”

The original quote, however, sparked criticism on social media this week, with one Twitter user saying, “If the goal is to increase vax usage – and we know both Illinois and Chicago , usage is lowest among Black and Latinx residents – Dr. Ezike’s statement is at odds with equity goals. “

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Ezikes’ post comes as local and federal leaders tout the vaccine’s effectiveness, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to “get vaccinated as soon as possible” in order to protect themselves against the virus.

President Biden also said last month that vaccines are a matter of “life and death.” While CDC Director Rochelle Walensky added that: “Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the most contagious delta variant is spreading throughout the world. country.”

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Vaccines, on the whole, also have a long history of eradicating disease, and potential death, for diseases such as polio, tetanus, measles, mumps and others.

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Masks, on the other hand, are recommended by the CDC to be worn indoors in areas of high transmission, regardless of vaccination status, in order to “maximize protection against the Delta variant and possibly avoid spread it to others “.

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