By the end of the month, COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. could get full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said FDA approval could come "within the next few weeks."
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"If that's the case, you're going to see the empowerment of local enterprises giving mandates -- that could be colleges, universities, places of business, a whole variety -- and I strongly support that," Fauci told NBC News on Sunday. "The time has come, and we’ve got to go the extra step to get people vaccinated."
As soon as the FDA issues a full approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, there will be a "flood" of vaccine mandates at businesses and schools across the U.S., according to Fauci.
"Organizations, enterprises, universities, colleges that have been reluctant to mandate at the local level will feel much more confident," he told USA Today. "They can say: If you want to come to this college or university, you've got to get vaccinated. If you want to work in this plant, you have to get vaccinated. If you want to work in this enterprise, you've got to get vaccinated. If you want to work in this hospital, you've got to get vaccinated."
The Biden administration requires federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing and mask mandates. However, Fauci said the federal government will not mandate vaccinations for the country. Instead, it is encouraging state and local governments as well as businesses to consider such mandates.
"I believe that some people, on their own, once it gets approved as a full approval will go ahead and get vaccinated," Fauci said. "But for those who do not want, I believe mandates at the local level need to be done.
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The two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as well as the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine, are currently being administered under emergency-use approval that was authorized by the FDA late last year. Pfizer is expected to be the first drugmaker to receive full approval of its vaccine.
The FDA has said it is working as fast as possible to approve the vaccines but has declined to provide any status updates.
About 71% of US adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 61% are fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As the highly contagious delta variant spreads, Fauci said it's now the pandemic of the unvaccinated.
"It's extremely dangerous for the unvaccinated because, if they get infected and if they stay unvaccinated and don't wear masks, ultimately they're going to wind up getting infected," he said. "It's understandable that people want to do the kinds of things they want to do. They want their freedom to do that. But there comes a time when you're dealing with a public health crisis that could involve you, your family, and everyone else... This is a very, very transmissible virus. The best protection is getting vaccinated. There's no doubt about that."
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