Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is eschewing a face mask on the Senate floor now that he’s been vaccinated. Flanked by masked aides, he told CNN on Thursday, “At this point I’ve been vaccinated. Everybody working in the Senate has been vaccinated.” Cruz’s claim of near-complete vaccination is incorrect: Multiple senators have refused the vaccine as of Tuesday: Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Ron Johnson (R-WI). Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said he’s slated to be vaccinated this week. In fact, the CNN reporter interviewing Cruz had not yet been vaccinated, to which the Texas Republican responded, “At this point, virtually everyone here has been vaccinated. And everyone has the opportunity.” Like Cruz, Paul is declining to wear a face covering while in the Senate. The CDC recommends that vaccinated people wear masks in public settings, as their role in transmission is as yet unclear.
