Paul, who has been a strong proponent of individual responsibility during the pandemic, said in January that "if you've had the disease or you've been vaccinated and you're several weeks out from the second dose, throw your mask away."

In March, Paul pushed back at Dr. Anthony Fauci over whether people should wear masks if they have recovered from coronavirus or been vaccinated against it.

"You're telling everybody to wear a mask, whether they've had an infection or a vaccine," Paul said to Fauci in a congressional hearing. "If people that have had the vaccine or have had the infection … if we're not spreading the infection, isn't it just theater?" Paul asked.

"Here we go again with the theater. Let's get down to the facts," Fauci replied. "Let me just state for the record that masks are not theater. Masks are protective."