Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, seemingly lectured unvaccinated Americans on Sunday, contending to CNN there is “no reason not to get vaccinated” despite looming concerns about vaccine safety and the fact that they are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Fauci lamented the ideological hesitations behind the decisions of some to refrain from getting vaccinated. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Republicans less likely to get the vaccine than Democrats, 93 percent of Democrats surveyed indicating they have been vaccinated or plan to be. That number dropped to 49 percent among Republicans.
“We’ve got to put aside this ideological difference or differences, thinking that somebody is forcing you to do something,” Fauci said, contending government health officials are simply “asking you to do something that will ultimately save your life and that of your family and that of the community.”
“I don’t know. I really don’t have a good explanation, Jake, about why this is happening,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper over the weekend. “I mean, it’s ideological rigidity, I think.”
“There’s no reason not to get vaccinated. “Why are we having red states and places in the South that are very highly ideological in one way, not wanting to get vaccinations?” he asked, claiming vaccinations “have nothing to do with politics.”
“It’s a public health issue. It doesn’t matter who you are. The virus doesn’t know whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent,” he said. “For sure, we know that. And yet there is that divide of people wanting to get vaccinated.”
However, Fauci, who has said attacks on him are attacks on science itself, has completely dismissed the fact that the vaccines have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — a looming concern for many unvaccinated Americans. A recent Morning Consult survey revealed 49 percent of unvaccinated people attribute their decision to a lack of trust in the vaccine development process and concern about safety or side effects:
The survey found 49 percent of unvaccinated individuals citing a lack of trust in the vaccine development process and concern over safety or side effects.
“No one knows the long-term effects after taking the vaccine,” one millennial said, according to the outlet.
Ten percent cited “conspiracies, mistrust of drug companies or government,” with one Baby Boomer telling the outlet, “I will not be a test subject for Big Pharma.”
“Although it’s understandable — quite understandable that some people might say, ‘Well, we want to wait for the full approval,’ that’s really only a technical issue,” Fauci said over the weekend. “It’s the FDA dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.”
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that these vaccines are going to get full approval because of the extraordinary amount of positive data,” he added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held an emergency meeting in June about the development of rare heart inflammation conditions developing in young people, primarily young men, after receiving one of the mRNA shots. However, the CDC concluded the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh the risks.
The federal health agency is currently investigating the death of a 13-year-old Michigan boy who died in his sleep two days after receiving his second Pfizer dose. According to the Detroit Free Press, “The family was told that preliminary autopsy findings suggest Jacob’s heart was enlarged when he died and there was fluid around his heart.”
At the time of the emergency meeting, the CDC reported roughly 1,200 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis developing in young people who have received the mRNA vaccine.
Last week, the father of a teen appeared on Fox & Friends and discussed that his 17-year-old son developed a heart condition after receiving the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.