Fauci Defends March 2020 Recommendation Not to Wear Masks

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a White House press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 21, 2021. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Dr. Anthony Fauci on April 11 defended his dismissal early last year of the idea of everyday Americans wearing masks to lower the risk of contracting COVID-19.

Fauci in March 2020 said on CBS' “60 Minutes” that people in the United States “should not be walking around wearing a mask,” after noting that many people in Asia were.