Critics rip Illinois Health Dept director over misquote alleging 'masks are as effective as vaccines'

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The Illinois Department of Health director allegedly recently said "masks are as effective as vaccines" amid a push to crack down on mask wearing in schools. 

"If we actually want our kids to be in school for in-person learning, masking is a great protection and our best bet," Dr. Ngozi Ezike was alleged to have said last Thursday, according to Chalkbeat. "The bottom line is that masks are as effective as vaccines are."

The Illinois Department of Public Health later told Fox News Wednesday that Ezike was inaccurately quoted in the Chalkbeat article, and had actually said during a press conference last Thursday: "If we actually want our kids to be in school for in-person learning, masking is a great protection and our best bet. The bottom line is masks are effective. Vaccines are effective." 

The original quote, however, ignited criticisms on social media this week, with one Twitter user saying, "If the goal is to increase vax uptake -- and we know both Illinois & Chicago, uptake is lowest among Black & Latinx residents -- Dr Ezike's statement is at-odds with equity goals."

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Ezike’s message comes as local and federal leaders tout the effectiveness of the vaccine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge people to "get vaccinated as soon as you can" in order to protect against the virus. 

President Biden also said last month that vaccines are a matter of "life and death." While CDC director Rochelle Walensky added that: "Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious delta variant spreads around the country." 

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Vaccines, overall, also have a long history of stamping out diseases, and potential death, for illnesses such as polio, tetanus, measles, mumps and others. 

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Masks, meanwhile, are advised by the CDC to be worn indoors in high transmission areas, regardless of vaccination status, in order "to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others."