America's most senior COVID-19 expert has defended people's right not to get a COVID-19 shot after being asked why vaccination pas...
America's most senior COVID-19 expert has defended people's right not to get a COVID-19 shot after being asked why vaccination passports are not mandatory.
Appearing on Chris Cuomo's CNN show Wednesday, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci argued with Cuomo when questioned why some people didn't wish to carry a passport proving they've had the vaccine.
Fauci, who also serves as the Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: 'I don't have the answer... It's a complex reason. And one of them is that if you, in fact, to require a passport, you're going to be discriminating against people and putting people at a disadvantage of essentially forcing them in many respects to get vaccinated.'
Cuomo countered by asking Fauci why people who choose not to get vaccinated should get 'opportunities' - such as removing face masks and ignoring social distancing rules - currently permitted to people who have been vaccinated.
'What the administration is saying is that they're not going to mandate a passport for vaccines centrally,' Fauci said, noting that organizations - such as some colleges - are already requiring proof of vaccination.'
But Cuomo pressed again, questioning why the federal government should leave it to organizations to decide when they have the resources to roll out a vaccine passport program. President Biden has previously said he has no plans to try and impose a federal vaccine passport mandate over privacy concerns.
Appearing on CNN's Cuomo Prime Time, the Biden administration's chief medical adviser Dr Fauci (left) was posed questions about the confusion surrounding the CDC lifting the federal mask mandate for vaccinated Americans last week.
'Chris - I don't have the answer for you, Chris. I don't have the answer for you,' Fauci replied, to Cuomo's shock.
Fauci added: 'You could make a good argument for that, Chris, I'm not arguing with you. But the policy is - they don't want to do it centrally.
'They don't want to have a central dictate that you have to have a passport because they don't want to put people in compromised position, I hear you argument, you're saying well, then get vaccinated, period.'
Cuomo also highlighted New York's Excelsior Pass vaccine passport, pioneered by his brother Andrew Cuomo, governor of the Empire State.
The TV host previously hailed his brother's efforts to tackle COVID in the early days of the crisis - and repeatedly interviewed him on the show.
But CNN bosses have since banned their star from doing so after Governor Cuomo was accused of covering up nursing home deaths, and being a prolific sex pest.
Doctor Fauci also spoke about ongoing confusion over the United States' newly relaxed mask rules.
Centers for Disease Control guidance says fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks in any setting, although some states have continued to impose additional rules.
New York's Excelsior Pass will be used to let fully-vaccinated people into sports fixtures and sit close to others, and the passes could also be used by bars, theaters as well as nightclubs in the coming months.
Interviewing Dr Fauci, Chris Cuomo said for him, the answer on mask guidance should be simple.
'If you're vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask,' Cuomo said. 'If you're not vaccinated, nothing has changed, but you will cheat.'
In answer to why the Federal government is not mandating the use of vaccination passports for inoculation proof, the prominent physician said on Wednesday: 'I don't have the answer,' and spoke of the complexity of the issue
'He doesn't have the answer. Fauci doesn't have the answer? They call the vaccine the 'Fauci Ouchie', now you don't have the answer?' Cuomo joked. 'I know that this is politics, but just look what's happening. New York State's got the Excelsior pass, other people have it.
Fauci raised the issue of vaccination passports earlier in the interview, when saying one of the problems facing establishments the latest mask mandate is that there is currently no way for people to prove they have been vaccinated.
In his experience, Fauci said business owners are saying that since there is currently no way of knowing who is vaccinated or unvaccinated, many are saying they will still required people to wear masks on their premises.
Pictured: Pedestrians wear protective masks during the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in the Queens borough of New York
A healthcare worker fills out a Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card during a Care For The Homeless vaccination event at the Health Center of Susan's Place Shelter For Women in the Bronx borough of New York, U.S., on Thursday, March 25, 2021
'So where the confusion is, is that people are saying: 'Wait a minute, some people are saying you don't have to wear masks when you're vaccinated. And now you're telling me when I go into an establishment, I have to wear a mask?'
'And you're right, it is confusing and fairness to the people who are trying to make heads or tails of that it can be confusing,' Fauci said.
The White House has so far ruled out the introduction of vaccine passports, with press secretary Jen Psaki saying on Monday: '[The CDC guidance] has not changed our view that the federal government will not be playing that role,' Psaki said.
'The private sector may, and it may prompt the private sector moving forward on actions, which is where we think it is appropriately situated.'
In April, she said: 'The government is not now, nor will we be, supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential.'
In a separate interview with Axios on Wednesday, Fauci acknowledged the confusion around the updated CDC guidance for wearing masks.
He told the news website that he thought people were 'misinterpreting' the new guidance, 'thinking that this is a removal of a mask mandate for everyone.
'It's not,' Fauci said. 'It's an assurance to those who are vaccinated that they can feel safe, be they outdoors or indoors.'
The physician added that he felt it was not people's fault for the misinterpretation.
'People either read them quickly, or listen and hear half of it. They are feeling that we're saying: 'You don't need the mask anymore.' That's not what the CDC said.
'They said: If you are vaccinated, you can feel safe — that you will not get infected either outdoors or indoors. It did not explicitly say that unvaccinated people should abandon their masks,' Fauci said.
Cuomo said he agreed that it wasn't American's fault for the misinterpretation, and instead placed the blame for the confusion on the CDC.
Fauci stopped short of blaming the CDC himself, but added: 'I believe that the the source of the confusion is the fact that the CDC made the change in guidelines purely to allow people who've been fully vaccinated to realize that the scientific data itself indicates that it is safe for them to go without a mask, not only outdoors, but also indoors.
'That was meant for those who are fully vaccinated. What happened is that that triggered in interpretation that we can now just throw masks away and nobody has to wear masks, which is obviously not the case. Because for those who have not been vaccinated, their original guidelines stay exactly the same.'
On May 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lifted its mask mandate, with new guidance saying people who have been fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors, with some exceptions.
People must still wear masks in healthcare settings, homeless shelters, prison and jails, and while on public transport.
However, the CDC's recommendation is just that - an unenforceable recommendation. States, cities and businesses can still require masks, leading to a patchwork of different rules across the country.
California's governor, Gavin Newsom, has said that the state will keep its mask order in place for another month, while Andrew Cuomo - New York's governor, said it would lift mask requirements on Wednesday, but keep it in some settings.
Many US businesses - including supermarkets Trader Joe's and Walmart - say they'll no longer ask customers to wear face masks in states which have lifted mask mandates.
They will not ask shoppers for proof they have been vaccinated.
More than a third of the U.S. population - and 45 percent of adults - are now fully vaccinated, and nearly 60 percent of adults have had at least a first shot.
As vaccination has become widespread, scientists in the U.S. - and especially in Israel - have had a chance to see real-world proof that the shots prevent almost all transmission.
Last week, President Joe Biden told Americans who have their full COVID vaccine to remove their face masks and his wife Jill, visiting West Virginia, did just that.
'If you're fully vaccinated, take your mask off. You've earned the right to do something that Americans are known for all around the world, greeting others with a smile,' President Biden said during remarks in the White House Rose Garden.
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