Psaki: Even After Vaccine, You Still Need to Social Distance and Wear Masks

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s comments about the health and safety precautions one must take even after getting the coronavirus vaccine raised questions on social media about the point of getting inoculated.

“What we are also trying to do is make our health and medical experts available to ensure people understand – and I’ll reiterate it here today – it’s not just a vaccine,” Psaki said Thursday at a press conference. “It’s obviously an incredible medical breakthrough and we want every American to have one, but even after you’re vaccinated, social distancing [and] wearing masks is going to be essential and we’ll need to continue communicating about that through health and medical experts.”

Critics pointed out it has become apparent the precautions were always about "power and control" and Psaki's comment will only "discourage" people from getting vaccinated.  

What’s the point of the vaccine then?

— Feelings Hurter (@OremUte) February 4, 2021

These people are nuts. They keep moving the goal post. https://t.co/3yfvSSKY7O

— Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) February 5, 2021

It's all about control to these power-mad lunatics. https://t.co/KFjQCXD7I7

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 4, 2021

No science. Just power and control. They don’t care about hard-working Americans, who must get out of pandemic-mode to support their families, loved ones and businesses. https://t.co/RFVAzura9a https://t.co/j7fBYS5x3K

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) February 4, 2021

The message that mask-wearing and distancing will never end is wrong. It will discourage people from getting the vaccine.

We need to open our schools and focus on getting back to normal. https://t.co/tHGc4W3vM7

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) February 4, 2021

this will discourage people from getting vaccinated and will land among many as demoralizing goalpost shifting — counter-productive imo https://t.co/8amXyxsz9o

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 4, 2021

There it is. Even after you get the thing we’ve all been waiting on to return to normal, you’ll never be allowed to return to normal. https://t.co/ErhZ8zDSj0

— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) February 4, 2021