Republican Senator Ted Cruz said he won't wear a face mask in the Capitol because he and everyone else in the Senate has b...
Republican Senator Ted Cruz said he won't wear a face mask in the Capitol because he and everyone else in the Senate has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
'At this point I've been vaccinated. Everybody working in the Senate has been vaccinated,' he told CNN.
Not all Capitol Hill staff have been vaccinated nor have all the reporters who work on Capitol Hill. The first doses of the COVID vaccine were offered to lawmakers and senior staff.
And only 14.9% of District of Columbia residents are fully vaccinated, according to the city’s tracker.
Cruz defended his decision not to wear a face covering even after being reminded that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people who have been vaccinated wear masks in public.
'CDC has said in small groups, particularly with people who were vaccinated don't need to wear masks,' he told CNN.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz (second right with fellow Republican Senators - from left - Steve Daines, John Thune, John Barrasso and Mike Lee) said he won't wear a face mask in the Capitol because he and everyone else in the Senate has been vaccinated against COVID-19
Senators are not required to wear face masks but most of them do - such as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell as he walks through the hall surrounded by reporters and aides
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas walks through the Capitol without a face mask, he's defended his decision saying the CDC said small groups of maskless people who have been vaccinated is okay
Most senators wear face masks. A notable exception is Senator Rand Paul, who has steadfastly refused to wear one even during the height of the pandemic.
Paul, an ophthalmologist, claims he has antibodies from the virus after he had a case of it about a year ago.
'I have immunity. I've already had the virus, so I can't get it again and I can't give it to anybody,' he told reporters on Capitol Hill in May of last year.
'I can't get it again. I can't transmit it so of all the people you'll meet here, I'm about the only safe person in Washington you'll meet,' Paul said.
Most medical experts agree that having the coronavirus will grant immunity from it for some amount of time, Stat News reported, although it's unclear how long.
On the House side of the Capitol, lawmakers and aides are required to wear masks, and lawmakers can be fined if they don't wear them on the House floor.
But the Senate has no such rules.
The attending physician of the Capitol has recommended - but does not require - senators wear face masks.
A group of Democratic and Republican senators in the Capitol wearing face masks during last week's service for slain US Capitol police officer Billy Evans
Republican Senator Rand Paul has steadfastly refused to wear a face masks but he says he has antibodies from when he had COVID a year ago
Several senators are at in an older age bracket that puts them at higher risk if they contact the coronavirus.
Safety procedures have been put in place, including hand sanitizer around the Capitol building, which remains closed to the public, and limiting the number of senators in the Senate chamber during votes. Many senators also attend committee meetings virtually via zoom.
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