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FACT BRIEF

Were Democrats 'caught' not wearing masks at the White House?

By Alexis Tereszcuk
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NO

The people shown on video and in photos at a May 20, 2021, event at the White House were not wearing masks because they were following CDC guidelines. As of May 13, 2021, the CDC said vaccinated individuals could gather indoors without masks.

President Joe Biden hosted an event in the East Room of the White House on May 20, and guests were not required to wear masks if they were fully vaccinated, per the CDC guidelines. Sixty-eight people attended, along with several dozen staff and journalists, the Wall Street Journal reported. Biden signed a bill at the event that focused on the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans.

Republicans also were in the room without masks, including Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

According to news reports, those attending the event who were not vaccinated were instructed to wear masks and socially distance.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
CDC Interim public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people
Wall Street Journal Biden welcomes largely maskless crowd to White House
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.