Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said on MSNBC on Tuesday that he believes covid-19 vaccines should be mandatory for teachers.
“Some people are going to get mad about this, but I think we should do it,” he said, when asked if he thought there should be a vaccination order for teachers.
“We are in a critical situation now. We have had over 615,000 deaths and are facing a huge increase as we approach fall, to the school season. This is a very serious matter. I would like people to understand why it is so important to get vaccinated.”
However, he clarified that there will be no mandatory vaccination orders for teachers from the federal government.
“But when it comes to local orders, for schools, teachers, universities. Sorry, I want to say that I know that people should like to have their individual freedom and not be told to do something.” He added: “But I think we are in such a dire situation now that under certain circumstances orders should be implemented for covid-19 vaccination”.
In that sense, he said that these orders could come “absolutely” from the governors. In addition, he indicated that he believes that when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approves vaccines “that local institutions, local businesses, will feel empowered and appropriately”.
“They won’t worry about anything, you know, being sued or anything. They are going to say ‘if you want to go to this university or this other, you have to be vaccinated. If you want to work in our organization, you have to be vaccinated.’ much more of that,” Fauci said.