Fauci: ‘I Am in Favor’ of Local Vaccine Mandates

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he favored coronavirus vaccine mandates on a “local level.”

Anchor Jake Tapper said, “You know, people who are vaccinated individuals have to wear masks on airplanes because airplanes don’t want to mandate that you have to be vaccinated to fly. I know you’ve been very clear that the government isn’t mandating vaccines, but do you think it’s generally a good idea for businesses or schools to require vaccinations?”

Fauci said, “I have been of this opinion, and I remain of that opinion, that I do believe at the local level, Jake, there should be more mandates. There really should be. We’re talking about life and death situations. We have lost 600,000 Americans already, and we’re still losing more people. There have been 4 million deaths worldwide. This is serious business. So I am in favor of that. One of the things that will happen, and I think the hesitancy at the local level of doing mandates, is because the vaccines have not been officially fully approved. But people need to understand that the amount of data right now that shows a high degree of effectiveness and a high degree of safety is more than we’ve ever seen with the emergency use authorization, so these vaccines are as good as officially approved with all the Is dotted and Ts crossed. It hasn’t been done yet because the FDA has to do certain things. But it’s as good as done. So people should really understand that. But they are waiting now until you get an official approval before. And I think when you do see the official approval, you’ll see a lot more mandates.”

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