MSNBC Disease Expert Says Brian Kilmeade is Right About Covid-19: Vaccinated Grandparents Can See Their Grandkids

MSNBC guest Dr. Michael Osterholm defended Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade in a Tuesday interview with host Brian Williams, telling Williams it was nearly “time to move on” from the coronavirus.

Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, was addressing a comment Kilmeade made on Fox & Friends. “My parents are 80 years old,” Kilmeade noted. “They got vaccinated. Can they go see their grandkids? You know what the answer is: Yes. You know why? Because you just explain to them, the vaccine is 94 percent effective. The chances of a kid getting it and falling ill are infinitesimal.”

Williams asked Osterholm for his assessment. “I think he’s right,” Osterholm replied. “We have to learn to live with this virus in a way we haven’t to date. Imagine an entire country vaccinated and still telling people they have to isolate, they have to quarantine, they have to continue to wear their mask, and it’s not going to happen.

“I’ll grant you, it doesn’t mean everybody who’s vaccinated is going to be perfectly protected, but we have to move on,” he added. “We’re not there yet, but I think over the course of the upcoming months as the vaccine increases in our communities, we need to continue to try to get back to that new normal. My concern right now is front and center with this new variant, but I think overall, long-term, yeah, that’s the right answer.”

The remarks contrast with comments from Dr. Anthony Fauci. The National Institute of Infectious Allergies and Disease chief said on Sunday that he believed Americans may need to continue wearing masks in 2022. He added at a Monday White House briefing, “There are things, even if you’re vaccinated, that you’re not going to be able to do in society,” and specifically cited “indoor dining, theaters, [and] places where people congregate.”

Watch above via MSNBC.