Fauci warns of COVID ‘highs’, calls out against vaccinations as Biden misses vaccination target by 70%

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Sunday of new spikes in COVID-19 in regions with low vaccination rates, as the United States failed to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70 percent of adults with at least one shot. By the 4th of July.

Two months ago, Biden set a standard to fully vaccinate 160 million adults and ensure 70 percent of them would get their first shot by Independence Day. The country is still at least weeks away from the goal. About 149 million adults are now fully vaccinated and 66.7 percent of adults have received at least their first dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fauci appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press calling on conservatives and anti-vaccinators to “put all their differences aside” and vaccinate.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Sunday of new “surges” of COVID in various regions with low vaccination rates. Jenna Moon / Getty Images

“We have a very effective countermeasure. That is why it is sadder and more tragic,” he said. “Whatever the reason – some of it is ideological, some of it is fundamentally anti-vaxxer and anti-science – but we just need to put that aside for now.

Fauci added, “We are dealing with a historic situation with this pandemic and we have the tools to confront it. So for good, put all these differences aside and realize that the common enemy is this virus and we have the tool, a very effective tool against this virus.”

His comments came hours after a new Washington Post and ABC News poll showed that only 45 percent of Republicans had received their first dose. Of the adults who were vaccinated, 60 percent said they believed officials had exaggerated the threat of the delta variable.

Fauci warned Americans who live in areas with low rates of vaccination, including Mississippi, to expect an increase in cases caused by the variant.

“So there are some states where the individual vaccination level is 35% or less. Under those circumstances, you might expect to see increases in certain areas, in certain states or cities or counties,” he said.

“We in this country are very fortunate and have enough vaccines to basically immunize everyone in the country,” Fauci added. “And there are people all over the world who would do anything to get vaccinated. We can vaccinate everyone if we end up saying, ‘Let’s put everything aside and get vaccinated and put an end to this terrible tragedy.'”

Twenty states have reached Biden’s 70 percent goal, including California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.

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