What he actually said was, "I want to protect myself and protect others, and also because I want to make it be a symbol for people to see that that's the kind of thing you should be doing,".
He also didn’t just say it publicly - it was over a month ago. Here is what he just said yesterday.
"If you say 'it doesn't matter whether you put it on or take it off,' you’re giving a wrong, mixed signal. The message should be, 'Wear a mask, period.' "
So if it doesn’t work and it makes you sick, why does the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases wear a mask himself and advocate others to do so as well?