Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, defended the CDC’s new mask guidance for vaccinated people and addressed the idea it means they’re “flip-flopping.”

The Delta variant has led to a rise in covid cases across the country, and the CDC announced this past week that they are recommending fully vaccinated people mask up in public indoor settings in areas with high transmission.

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi started Sunday by asking why there’s still a “messaging problem” going on.

“One of the reasons is that the situation has changed,” Collins said. “The Delta virus is not like what we were dealing with last year. It is so much more contagious.”

He brought up the CDC study that found vaccinated people — who are overwhelmingly protected from severe illness and death — can still “carry the virus at fairly high loads” and could contribute to transmission.

“I sort of get a little bit irritated with people who call this flip-flopping or changing your position. You should change your position when you have new data,” Collins said. “We wouldn’t criticize a stock broker for saying you should sell this week and buy next week because it’s based on what’s happening.”

You can watch above, via MSNBC.

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