A mask might provide better protection against COVID-19 than an approved vaccine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday. The director of the CDC was also forced to defend his agency, saying the CDC will follow the science and will not be persuaded by politics. Redfield, did anyone at the CDC advise President (Donald) Trump to downplay this crisis?" On COVID-19 contact tracing, the CDC director said the U.S. needs a public health workforce of 30,000 to 100,000 people — something that’s being worked on. As part of a plan to make vaccines for COVID-19 available to all Americans, the vaccine itself will be free of charge.