Fauci: “There should be more” local mandates on vaccines

“There is no reason not to get the vaccine. Why do we have states and red places in the South, which are very strongly ideological in a way, not wanting to be vaccinated? “have nothing to do with politics. It’s a public health issue,” he said.

Fauci said he believed there was some hesitation about vaccine requirements at the local level, as coronavirus vaccines have not yet been fully approved by the FDA, but have instead been cleared for emergency use by the agency. “I think when you see the official approval, Jake, you will see a lot more warrants,” he said.

In April, Fauci said the POLITICO Dispatch podcast that the federal government would not require vaccine passports to show proof of Covid-19 vaccinations for travelers or businesses, but expected businesses and schools to need them.

“I’m not saying they should or would, but I’m saying you could foresee how an independent entity might say, ‘Well, we can’t deal with you unless we know you are vaccinated. “but it won’t be federally mandated,” Fauci said on the podcast on April 5.

The Biden administration reiterated this week that it has no plans to give schools, businesses or states a federal mandate to demand the vaccine.

The public remains divided on the issue. A new POLITICO-Harvard survey has shown Americans are sharply divided across parties on whether schools or most private employers should require coronavirus vaccinations, with Democrats backing a government-issued document certifying their vaccination status, and Republicans opposing the government or most companies mandating a vaccination passport of any kind.