National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that considering the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus is rapidly spreading through the United States, unvaccinated family members should be asked not to attend Christmas gatherings this year.
Guest host Alicia Menendez said, “Dr. Fauci, you know very well, there are people deciding whether they’re going to get on planes to be with their families for the holidays. What is your advice?”
Fauci said, “Certainly any kind of travel increases the risk. If you are careful and prudent, and the travel you feel is important, necessary travel, like seeing a member of the family that you have not seen for a long time if you are vaccinated and boosted, and the people that you are visiting are vaccinated and boosted. You can get on a plane and travel, so long as you’re very prudent at the airport of wearing a mask.”
Menendez said, “If someone in your family is not vaccinated, should you ask them not to show up?”
Fauci said, “Yes, I would do that. I think we’re dealing with a serious enough situation right now that if there’s an unvaccinated person, I would say, ‘I’m very sorry, but not this time, maybe another time when this is all over.’”
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