Fauci says vaccination 'easiest way to turn this thing around'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said in an interview with ABC News anchor Linsey Davis Thursday that it's difficult to know whether the U.S. might see a sudden drop-off in cases, but that the best way out is by ramping up vaccinations.
"The easiest way to turn this thing around is to get as many people vaccinated as you possibly can," he said.
"Wouldn't you rather get the drop-off due to the fact that you're preventing infections rather than you've gotten so many people infected?" he later said.
Fauci said he is most worried about those who are unvaccinated, and that it was "painful" to hear of people regretting their decision not to get vaccinated and then getting ill.
"What's absolutely certain is that the people who are vulnerable to getting severe disease, hospitalization and death is overwhelmingly the unvaccinated," he told Davis, noting that the latest data shows that 99% of people who have died of COVID-19 are unvaccinated. "That should strongly urge you to get a shot."
-ABC News' Jon Schlosberg, Anne Flaherty and Brendan Rand
