Fauci Says He Favors Vaccine Mandates in Schools: ‘It Really Isn’t Anything New’

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday he supported mandating Covid-19 vaccines for school-aged children while lamenting that his position would be “taken out of context.”

“Would you support schools mandating the Covid vaccine for kids?” MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson asked Fauci in an afternoon interview.

“You know, that’s an interesting question,” Fauci said. “I know there’s a lot of pushback against mandates, but I think we are in such an emergency situation with the 150,000 cases that we’re having each day … we need to put it into the context of what has gone on prior to Covid-19. People think that having children be required to get vaccination is a very novel thing. It isn’t. Right now, if you want to go to many schools, most public schools, you’ve got to be vaccinated for measles, rumps, rubella, hepatitis.”

“So it’s nothing new,” he added, before bewailing his critics. “When you hear, ‘Would I Be in favor of mandating?’ In fact, I would be. But that gets taken out of context like I’m trying to impose some novel, new restriction on somebody, of taking away their rights. Look at what’s been going on for decades in schools — the requirement for vaccination.”

Pfizer announced on Monday that their studies showed their vaccine developed with BioNTech was safe for kids aged 5-11. To date, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved its use for those aged 12 and up. Pfizer board member and former FDA Chair Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday morning his former agency could approve the vaccine for kids “as early as probably by the end of October.”

Watch above via MSNBC.