"[W]hat happens is that you might get infected and get absolutely no symptoms, not know you're infected, and then inadvertently go into a situation with vulnerable people. And if you don't have a mask, you might inadvertently infect them," he said, adding that there was a "small risk" of such a situation occurring. "[W]hen you get vaccinated you are clearly diminishing dramatically your risk of getting infected. That's one of the things we've got to make sure everybody understands. You dramatically diminish it," Fauci added. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines currently recommend that vaccinated Americans continue wearing masks in public, though the agency says that vaccinated people congregating exclusively with others who have received the vaccine can do so safely without a mask. Attending "medium or large gatherings" with or without a mask is also still not recommended.