Fauci: 'I don't think we're going to see lockdowns'

The nation's top infectious diseases expert said Sunday he did not expect the U.S. will need to reenter lockdown, as the Delta strain of the coronavirus drives surges in new cases across the country.

"I don't think we're going to see lockdowns," Anthony Fauci said on ABC's "This Week." "I think we have enough of the percentage of people in the country, not enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter," he added.

Fauci, who serves as President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, also warned, however, that "things are going to get worse" as the Delta variant continues to spread across the U.S., and cast the blame on the some 100 million Americans who are eligible for the vaccine but have not received it.

"We're looking, not, I believe, to lockdown, but we're looking to some pain and suffering in the future because we're seeing the cases go up, which is the reason why we keep saying over and over again, the solution to this is get vaccinated and this would not be happening," Fauci said.