Fauci Says US Can Have COVID-19 Under Control by Spring if Vaccinations Rise

In an interview with CNN (Left bias) Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted that the U.S. could "get some good control" of COVID-19 by next spring if vaccination rates rise. Fauci said that "If we keep lingering without getting those people vaccinated that should be vaccinated, this thing could linger on, leading to the development of another variant which could complicate things." Roughly 90 million eligible Americans have not received the COVID-19 vaccine. Fauci added: "“I respect people’s freedom, but when you’re talking about a public health crisis that we’ve been going through now for well over a year and a half, the time has come." Fauci also apologized for and corrected a prediction he made in an NPR interview Monday, in which he predicted better control of the pandemic "into the fall and the winter" rather than Spring 2022.

Fauci's interview was covered across the spectrum. Some left-rated sources framed his comments as a sign that defeating the pandemic requires continued action from the federal government and public health officials, such as vaccine mandates; others covered how the prediction may create issues for Biden and Democrats. Some right-rated outlets focused more on Fauci's correction, framing it as another example of inconsistent government messaging on COVID-19.