Fauci: May Take ‘Many, Many’ More Vaccine Mandates to Get Pandemic Under Control

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s White House medical adviser who said last year that “you cannot force someone to take a vaccine,” reportedly said it may take “many many” more vaccine mandates to get the Chinese coronavirus pandemic under control.

During an interview at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) convention on Sunday, Fauci said “you’ve got to go to the alternatives” if people are not voluntarily getting the jab.

“I believe that’s going to turn this around because I don’t think people are going to want to not go to work or not go to college … They’re going to do it,” Fauci told CNN’s Jen Christensen

“You’d like to have them do it on a totally voluntary basis, but if that doesn’t work, you’ve got to go to the alternatives,” he continued.

This stands as a sharp contrast to Fauci’s beliefs a year ago. In August 2020, he told Healthline, “I don’t think you’ll ever see a mandating of vaccine, particularly for the general public.”

“If someone refuses the vaccine in the general public, then there’s nothing you can do about that,” he said, concluding “you cannot force someone to take a vaccine.”

Yet, last week, President Biden announced sweeping mandates for federal workers, federal contractors, certain healthcare workers, and members of the private sector.

In recent weeks, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director has completely shifted his view. In an August interview, Fauci claimed to “respect” people’s freedom but added: “When you’re talking about a public health crisis, that we’ve been going through now for well over a year and a half, the time is come, enough is enough.”

In another interview, Fauci explicitly said people need to “put aside all of these issues of concern about liberties and personal liberties, and realize we have a common enemy, and that common enemy is the virus.”

More recently, during a Tuesday interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Fauci said that the decision to get vaccinated “isn’t all about you.” He went on to say”

If you get infected, even if you don’t have any symptoms, it is likely that you will pass the virus on to someone else who might pass it on to someone else who might have a severe outcome, leading to hospitalization and even death. So you’ve got a look at it that you’re not in a vacuum.

“You’re part of society. And do you want to be part of the component that propagates the virus and propagates the outbreak? Or do you want to be part of the solution?” he asked, adding that people “have some responsibility as a member of society” to get vaccinated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 53.9 percent of the total U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated. Among those who are eligible to get vaccinated, those 12 and older, the percentage is 63.1 percent. Both figures, however, fall short of the 70 percent vaccination goal the Biden administration hoped to reach by July 4.