Grant Shapps stated that vaccinations have made it easier to sit in enclosed spaces with masks. Scientists warned that this message could lead to complacency. Mask use is crucial in limiting the spread and spreading of Covid.
The transport secretary spoke at a packed fringe event at the Conservative party conference about rail industry. Many people were not wearing a face mask and the transport secretary noted that people are returning to travel.
Shapps stated that everyone must make the first trip to get out of the pandemic. Look at us here. It would have been impossible for us three months ago to sit in this room in reasonable close proximity [without] face covers.
Shapps stated that anyone who isn't vaccinated for a medical reason is insane. He said that the amount of vaccinations meant there was a sense of safety returning to their homeland. People will be aware they are jabbed and all others will be jabbed.
Shapps was asked at the Manchester event if it was a good thing so many people were present without masks. She said that she didn't think she said that she was happy. I was just making the analogy that, three months ago, this would have been impossible if the programme of vaccines had not ended. It is undoubtedly a positive thing that society can open up.
Some scientists however felt it was vital that the message on masks be clear. Dr Deepti Gurdasani is an epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London. She stated that it was clear that anyone who has been vaccinated can get infected and transmit Covid. Therefore, people should wear masks when they are in close proximity to other people.
She stated that the infection rates in England are high at present, and superspreading indoors is a real risk. In such situations, government officials should not wear masks. This undermines the public messaging they send to others and further undermines public trust.
Trish Greenhalgh is a GP who is also a professor of primary health care at Oxford. She said that while Covid vaccines were a game-changer in the fight against the pandemic, it was important that people who have been vaccinated still wear masks indoors.
She said that even if they are fully vaccinated, people can still transmit the virus to others and catch it. There is a greater chance of someone inhaling the virus if there are more people than necessary, even if they have been vaccinated.
She advised people to use a belt and braces approach and added: Combining vaccines and masks provides far more protection than either one.
