WASHINGTON, D.C. (1010 WINS) — Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that it was not too late to prevent a potentially “dangerous” uptick in cases around the holidays if more Americans quickly get vaccinated.
With U.S. cases rising again to nearly 100,000 per day, Fauci said Americans should get vaccinated or receive their boosters before any holiday traveling.
“We still have about 60 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not been, and that results in the dynamic of virus in the community that not only is dangerous and makes people who are unvaccinated vulnerable, but it also spills over into the vaccinated people,” Fauci said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Fauci praised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for recommending boosters for all adults on Friday and said that expanded vaccine availability to children ages 5 and older is another powerful tool to help fight the spread.
“We have a lot of virus circulating around. You can’t walk away from the data, and the data show that the cases are starting to go up, which is not unexpected when you get into a winter season,” Fauci said. “People start to go indoors more and we know that immunity does wane over time.”
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul has warned that the state could reimplement coronavirus restrictions if cases continue to rise.
Nearly 6,100 people a day are now testing positive for COVID-19 in the state, up 22% from roughly 5,000 for the seven days through Nov. 1. The state is reporting the highest seven-day case average since mid-April.
“There is one simple solution to ensure New Yorkers can enjoy a safe holiday season — get vaccinated if you haven’t already and get a booster shot if you have,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Saturday.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has predicted Thanksgiving travel levels that rival pre-pandemic numbers.
Fauci also appeared on ABC News Sunday, where he continued to urge Americans to get their vaccines. He spoke optimistically that the boosters could be powerful enough to eliminate the need for another shot in six months to a year.
“We would hope, and this is something that we're looking at very carefully, that that third shot with the mRNA not only boosts you way up, but increases the durability so that you will not necessarily need it every six months or a year,” Fauci said. “We're hoping it pushes it out more.”