Dr. Anthony Fauci advocated on Sunday for additional shots against the Chinese coronavirus, explaining federal health officials’ goal to give people a “boost from the original vaccine that they had.”
Appearing on CBS News’s Face the Nation, President Biden’s medical adviser suggested that booster shots, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended specifically for immunocompromised people, is a goal for vaccinated people across the board.
“Right now, if we get boosters, you know, we’re talking about boosters. We already implemented boosters for the immune-compromised,” Fauci said. “It’s clear we want to make sure we get people, if possible, to get the boost from the original vaccine that they had.”
“But remember, the original dose of the Moderna is about three times what the dose of the Pfizer is,” he said, expressing hope the vaccines will receive full approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the near future.
On Friday, Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, announced she signed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for immunocompromised people to receive another dose of the two-dose mRNA vaccines — a move that coincided with the FDA’s similar ruling:
Fauci’s latest remarks follow his approval of local vaccine mandates despite previously admitting people cannot be forced to get the vaccine.
“I don’t think you’ll ever see a mandating of vaccine, particularly for the general public,” Fauci said last year, adding, “If someone refuses the vaccine in the general public, then there’s nothing you can do about that. You cannot force someone to take a vaccine.”
Nonetheless, last month, Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper there should be “more mandates.”
During Sunday’s interview, Fauci also dismissed the concerns of those who have refused to get the jab, contending they need to “put aside all of these issues of concern about liberties and personal liberties.”
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