Mask-free Jennifer Garner joins Jill Biden to talk vaccination, child poverty in West Virginia Maria Puente, USA TODAY
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As the song says, West Virginia is almost heaven. And maybe especially without face masks.
So it seemed Thursday when hometown girl-made-good Jennifer Garner joined first lady Jill Biden and a planeload of Washington types to spotlight the state s vaccine distribution success and ongoing efforts to relieve child poverty.
And they were all mask-less, in keeping with the new CDC guidance for people who are fully vaccinated. During the flight from Washington, Dr. Anthony Fauci was on CNN advising vaccinated people to drop the masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.
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America unmasks: Joe and Kamala take all the credit as they finally announce it s time to ditch the masks, shake hands and even HUG each other if you ve had your shots
Biden said those who are fully vaccinated are allowed to take their masks off, hug and shake hands You ve earned the right to do something that Americans are known for all around the world, greeting others with a smile, President Biden said
In West Virginia, Jill Biden did just that and she stepped off her plane maskless and was greeted by Jennifer Garner We feel naked, the first lady said about not wearing one. Then she paused. I didn t mean it that way!
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Manchin is the politico of the moment in Washington: The moderate Democrat from West Virginia holds the make-or-break vote for administration policies in the evenly divided U.S. Senate. Gayle Manchin is the Senate-confirmed co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Greeting them at the airport: Garner, a Save the Children ambassador who grew up in Charleston, and Mark Shriver, the Kennedy cousin who is president of Save the Children Action Network, which advocates for humanitarian aid to children experiencing poverty in the U.S. and around the world.
“Today is a great day for America,” President Joe Biden said during a Rose Garden address heralding the new mask guidance.