Fauci Says He Supports Vaccine Mandates for Teachers

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In an appearance on MSNBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, said he supports vaccine mandates for teachers, arguing that local governments should be supported in their efforts to mandate that teachers be vaccinated against Covid-19.

“I’m going to upset people on this but I think we should [mandate teacher vaccinations],” Fauci said. “I mean, we are in a critical situation now. We have had 615,000 deaths and we are in a major surge now as we’re going into the fall, into the school season. This is very serious business.”

“You would wish that people would see why it’s so important for people to get vaccinated,” Fauci added. “But you’re not going to get mandates, centrally, from the federal government. I’m sorry I know people must like to have their individual freedom and not be told to do something. But I think that we’re in such a serious situation now, that under certain circumstances, mandates should be done.”

You can watch his appearance in the video below.

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MSNBC's @WillieGeist: "Do you think teachers should be mandated to be vaccinated?"

Dr. Fauci: "I'm going to upset people on this but I think we should … We are in a major surge now as we're going into the fall, into the school season. This is very serious business." pic.twitter.com/valF0YJKoS

— The Recount (@therecount) August 10, 2021

Fauci’s remarks came in response to a question he was asked about comments made by American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, who made it clear she would also support mandating that all teachers be vaccinated around the country.

“Vaccines are the single most important way of dealing with COVID,” Weingarten told NBC’s “Meet the Press. “Since 1850 we’ve dealt with vaccines in schools, it’s not a new thing to have vaccines in schools. And I think that, on a personal matter, as a matter of personal conscience, I think that we need to be working with our employers – not opposing them – on vaccine mandates.”