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White House chief health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday he supported vaccination mandates for all teachers to better protect children from the coronavirus.
“I’m going to upset some people about this, but I think we should,” Fauci said in an MSNBC interview in response to a question about the requirement to vaccinate teachers.
“I mean, we’re in a critical situation now,” he said. “We’ve had over 615,000 deaths, and we’re in a big increase now as we move into the fall, into the school season. It’s a very serious business.”
THE AUSTIN AND DALLAS SCHOOLS IMPLEMENT NEW MASK MANDATES, INFRINGING GOV. PROHIBITION OF ABBOTT
Despite President Biden’s warnings that the United States could see increased mandates with the increase in positive delta variant cases, Fauci said the guidance will not come from the federal level.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said the orders would come from heads of state instead.
Fauci suggested he believes statewide warrants will become increasingly likely after the Food and Drug Administration approves the vaccine.
Biden said FDA approval of the vaccine is expected this fall, although the administration has yet to determine more specifically when the United States can expect the federal green light.
“There is no doubt that these vaccines are going to be fully approved,” Fauci said. “This idea of ’It’s not fully approved’ is really a false story. It really is. I mean, you should take it as fully approved and get vaccinated.”
Children between the ages of two and 12 have not been approved to receive the coronavirus vaccine – a hurdle that has become increasingly urgent with the more contagious delta variant.
The number of reported cases of children who contracted the virus rose 4% last week, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics with nearly 94,000 new confirmed cases.
FAUCI SAYS “I HOPE” THAT MAKING YOUNG CHILDREN WEAR MASKS WILL NOT HAVE A “LASTING NEGATIVE IMPACT”
Fauci said he believes it is necessary for children and adults to wear masks at school.
“It is obviously uncomfortable for children to wear masks, especially younger ones,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday. “This virus is not only so extraordinarily transmissible, but we are starting to see pediatric hospitals welcoming more and more young people and children not only digitally, but what appears to be a more serious disease.”
Parents who object to their children wearing masks argue that it hinders their social and cognitive abilities because the masks hide an individual’s expression.
Fauci said the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) was trying to “balance” the potential threat the delta poses to children and adults.
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“But I hope it will be a temporary thing, temporary enough to have no lasting negative impact on them,” he added.
The CDC reported a daily average of nearly 90,000 new cases last week, an increase of almost 34% from the previous week.
Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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