Bernie Sanders was the only lawmaker masked at State of the Union — and people noticed
Amid a sea of hundreds of attendees at the State of the Union address on Feb. 7, just one lawmaker — Bernie Sanders — was spotted wearing a mask. The 81-year-old senator’s decision sparked discussion online from across the political spectrum.
Some members of the medical community and Sanders’ supporters praised the Vermont senator’s decision.
“Sen Bernie Sanders looks like the only person in the House chamber wearing a mask. There are 34 Senators over age 70,” Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and CNN medical analyst tweeted. “Undoubtedly there’s more than one person in that room with COVID.”
Stephanie Quilao, a former Sanders delegate in the 2016 presidential election, tweeted “Bernie Sanders is currently in the US trending list simply because he showed up to the #SOTU2023 being himself.”
“Wearing a mask,” Quilao said. “What a great image of leadership acknowledging that Covid is still happening. More reason why Bernie is the most popular Democrat (caucus) in the US.”
Others online were less enthused by Sanders’ masking.
“If you think you looked stupid today, just know that Bernie Sanders was the only member of Congress still wearing a mask at the State of the Union,” comedian Tim Young tweeted.
“If folks like @BernieSanders want to wear a mask, knock your socks off. Mask up inside your car? Go for it. Place four masks on while alone in the park? Party on. What’s not acceptable? Imposing mask mandates based on fear, not science, especially when it comes to kids in school,” Stefan Mychajliw, a former Republican comptroller in New York, tweeted.
Over a year ago, Sanders introduced legislation that would have provided every American with N95 masks.
But in the time since then, public support for mask mandates has plummeted, according to Oct. 2022 polling from Monmouth University. Only 25% of respondents were in favor of reinstituting masking guidelines, down from 63% a year earlier.
National rates of deaths and hospitalization as a result of COVID-19 are currently far below their peaks in Feb. 2021 and 2022, with an average of 493 people dying daily from the virus, according to the CDC. Local community spread in D.C. is considered low by the CDC’s rating scale.
However, some experts had urged caution this winter as other respiratory illnesses — the flu and RSV — spread alongside the coronavirus. The CDC recommendations say “people may choose to mask at any time” and that people with a higher risk of getting severely sick, such as older adults, may want to take extra precautions.
President Joe Biden plans to end all emergency pandemic measures in May, according to the Associated Press; he reiterated his intentions during his State of the Union remarks.
This story was originally published February 8, 2023 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Bernie Sanders was the only lawmaker masked at State of the Union — and people noticed."