On May 7th, Ohio state representative Nino Vitale posted on Facebook, quoting the US Surgeon General Jerome Adams as saying “masks increase virus risk”. This was likely sourced from a tweet by the Surgeon General on Feb 29th.
Adams did indeed recommend not wearing face masks, but has since changed his stance. On April 3rd, thirty-four days before Vitale’s tweet, Adams spoke at a White House press briefing:
In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends and the [COVID-19] task force recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain. These include places like grocery stores and pharmacies. We especially recommend this in areas of significant community-based transmission. It is critical.
United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams, White House press briefing, April 3rd, 2020
Nino Vitale wasn’t entirely incorrect with his quoting of Jerome Adams, but the quote was outdated, and Adams no longer supports the statements echoed in Vitale’s post.
