Fauci asks Americans to be 'part of the solution' and receive Covid vaccine

Infectious disease expert says if ‘overwhelming majority’ vaccinated nation can return to ’robust’ economy

Dr Anthony Fauci has asked Americans to be “part of the solution” to the coronavirus pandemic by receiving a coronavirus vaccine “sooner rather than later” when it is available.  

The leading US infectious disease expert discussed the implementation of new vaccines across the US in an interview with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Monday.

Dr Fauci said those who refuse to get the vaccine would remain “part of the problem”.

“As long as you're susceptible you’re part of the problem not part of the solution. When you’re protected you’re another person the virus can’t impact,” he said.

He explained to Mr Zuckerberg that even though someone may not experience severe symptoms of the virus, they could continue to spread the disease.

“If you’re vulnerable even if you don’t get a lot of symptoms the fact that you’ve been infected means that you’re inadvertently propagating the outbreak,” he said.

“So if you want to be part of the solution, get vaccinated and say ‘I’m not going to be one of the people that is going to be a stepping stone for the virus to go to somebody else, I’m going to be a dead end to the virus.’”

More than 13.6 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since the outbreak gripped the country in March, leading to the deaths of over 268,000 people.

This month, Moderna and Pfizer announced their vaccine candidates had been tested to 94.5 per cent and 95 per cent efficacy respectively.

The candidates have since both filed for emergency use authorisations from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Dr Fauci said that if the “overwhelming majority” of the country is vaccinated by the end of the next quarter the nation “can get back to the economy being robust” and “children can feel safe going back to school.”

“I would like to see the reluctant people get vaccinated sooner rather than later,” he said. “I don’t want them to wait six to eight to nine months.

“But you’re not going to see it Mark unless the overwhelming majority of people get vaccinated.”

Operation Warp Speed, the government’s vaccine development programme, has said it plans to ship vaccines to the immunisation sites within 24 hours of their approval from the FDA.

Americans will be able to receive a vaccine free of charge.

Cases of the virus have been steadily climbing in recent weeks across the US and health officials fear that travel and family gatherings over the Thanksgiving period will cause numbers to surge as the country heads into winter.

Experts warned Americans to stay home over Thanksgiving, warning that even small gatherings can intensify the spread of the virus.

However, 1.2 million people passed through US airports on Sunday following the holiday, the most since the pandemic gripped the country in March.