Changing his opinion in light of Delta is not a "flip flop". It's adjusting based on new conditions. Delta is flatly FAR more transmissible than Alpha which the vaccines were originally trialed against. Also, this would hardly be the first vaccine to require three doses for maximum efficacy.
It's not the message that I have a problem with, it's the messenger. In the last 18 months, this guy has gone from saying:
You don't need to wear a mask (Because none are available anyway, and we don't want to cause a panic)
Actually, you should probably wear a mask
You NEED to wear a mask!
Actually, you probably only need to wear it indoors
Maybe you should probably wear two masks?
Never mind, you don't need to wear a mask indoors anymore if you're vaccinated (Because we need to get more people to get those shots!)
Actually, you should wear a mask indoors even if you're vaccinated
Doesn't this guy understand the importance of consistent messaging? By changing the guidelines constantly, he's lost all credibility and quite frankly he's pissing people off. When the words, "OK, you actually need a third shot, but this will probably be the last one, OK?" come out of HIS mouth, it actually strengthens my belief that annual COVID booster shots are going to be a thing.
The CDC probably should have been telling us to wear masks all along, but it's probably too late for that now.
What I'd like to hear NOW is something more along the lines like "Sorry about all that bad advice from Dr. Fauci. He's a moron, we fired him. Here's our new head medical expert, with some new guidelines..."