Fauci: US going in ‘wrong direction’
Says return of edict on masks to counter virus surge discussed
WILMINGTON, Del. — The United States is in an “unnecessary predicament” of soaring COVID-19 cases fueled by unvaccinated Americans and the virulent delta variant, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert said Sunday.
“We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, describing himself as “very frustrated.”
He said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials.
Fauci said government experts are reviewing data as they consider whether to recommend that vaccinated individuals to get booster shots. He also suggested that some of the most vulnerable, such as organ transplant and cancer patients, are “likely” to be recommended for booster shots.
Fauci, who also serves as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he has taken part in conversations about altering the mask guidelines.
He noted that some local jurisdictions where infection rates are surging, such as Los Angeles County, are already calling on individuals to wear masks in indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status.
Fauci said those local rules are compatible with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that the vaccinated do not need to wear masks in public.
With about half of Americans not yet vaccinated and the fast-spreading delta variant circulating, Fauci and a range of current and former health officials Sunday expressed exasperation at the situation and vigorously pressed the case that vaccination is the best and most effective way to stem the tide of COVID cases.
“It is really a pandemic among the unvaccinated,” Fauci said, adding, “It’s like you have two kinds of America. You have the very vulnerable unvaccinated part and you have the really relatively protected vaccinated part. If you are vaccinated, you are in a very different category than someone” unvaccinated.
The situation is so dire that recently, even some Republican governors in low-vaccination states have been exhorting people to get a COVID vaccine.
On Sunday on CNN, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas said that, with the new school year on the horizon, “this is a pivotal moment in our race against the COVID virus,” adding that “what’s holding us back is a low vaccination rate.”
Hutchinson, a Republican, said he has been holding town halls recently, which he credited for a 40% increase in vaccination.
Still he added that “certainly the resistance has hardened” among some people. “It’s simply false information,” he said. “It is myths.”
Fauci praised Republicans, including Hutchinson, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the second-ranking House leader, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, for encouraging their constituents to get vaccinated. Their states have among the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
“What I would really like to see is more and more of the leaders in those areas that are not vaccinating to get out and speak out and encourage people to get vaccinated,” Fauci said.
On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Dr. Jerome Adams, surgeon general in the Trump administration, also encouraged vaccination, casting the decision in patriotic terms. “Get vaccinated because it’s going to help every single American enjoy the freedoms that we want to return to,” he said.
Adams said some people still have legitimate questions about getting vaccinated, including workers who worry post-vaccine side effects might cause them to miss a day of work or a paycheck. He predicted immunization rates would increase once the vaccines — currently available under emergency-use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration — become fully licensed. That will probably prompt the military and some businesses to mandate vaccination for service members and employees, he said.
In the meantime, Adams said the message should be “It is your choice, but choices come with consequences to you and other people,” including children not yet old enough for vaccination and people who are medically vulnerable.
Several current and former officials discussed whether recommendations or mandates for wearing masks should be reinstated.
Fauci said the Biden administration is considering reissuing stronger mask-wearing guidelines.
In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its guidance, saying that people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask in most indoor settings.
Adams said “that guidance, quite frankly, has confused citizens, it’s frustrated businesses and public health officials who I continue to hear from, and it’s been, by any qualification, a failure.”
He said the CDC should state clearly that people who are vaccinated should wear masks if they are in public, around people whose vaccination status is unclear or in a community where COVID19 cases are increasing.
“The CDC needs to give those businesses, those health officials a little bit of cover by clarifying the guidance,” Adams said.