During an interview on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president, claimed that COVID-19 vaccine mandates are necessary because the United States has “to put communal responsibility ahead of individual preferences” and that “sometimes if you don’t come to the realization that it’s good for yourself, for your family, and the communal good then mandates or requirements become necessary.”
The interviewer said to Fauci, “In New York, we’re seeing the mayor introduce a vaccine mandate for the private sector, is this the kind of litigation tool that you see in our future in your professional opinion?”
“You know, Frances, no one likes to be mandating for people to do things that they might be hesitant to do,” Fauci responded.
“But, quite frankly, you have to when you’re in the middle of what we call a historic experience of the worst pandemic of a respiratory disease in the last hundred years. We have to put the communal responsibility ahead of individual preferences,” he continued. “So although no one — myself included — likes being told what to do, but sometimes if you don’t come to the realization that it’s good for yourself, for your family, and the communal good then mandates or requirements become necessary.”
Fauci on NYC: “Quite frankly, you have to [mandate vaccinations] when you’re in the middle of what we call a historic experience of the worst pandemic of a respiratory disease in the last hundred years. We have to put the communal responsibility ahead of individual preferences." pic.twitter.com/sZPOmKoHHk
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 8, 2021
Fauci’s comments come a few weeks after a study from the University of California and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub found “no significant difference” in viral load between vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 – undermining the argument that vaccines should be mandated because unvaccinated people put others at a greater risk.
The authors of the study stated that their findings “strongly support the notion” that vaccine status should not “influence the recommendation and implementation of good public health practices, including mask wearing, testing, social distancing, and other measures designed to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2.”
