Fauci Says A ‘Dark, Bad Winter’ Is Only Avoidable If This Happens

Americans may be headed toward a “dark, bad winter” as cases of the coronavirus continue to rise across the U.S.

But the nation’s leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said this could be avoided if Americans do one thing – get vaccinated to a “very high degree” in the coming months.

Fauci made the comments on Thursday during “The Takeout” podcast, referring to a warning that President Joe Biden made in late 2020 that the U.S. was heading toward a “very dark winter” as COVID cases increased.

When asked if the Delta variant and the hesitancy of 70 million Americans to get the COVID vaccine could send the U.S. into a threatening winter, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases gave a warning.

He told “The Takeout,” “You know, if we don't get people vaccinated who need to be vaccinated, and we get that conflating with an influenza season, we could have a dark, bad winter.”

But Fauci hedged, “We could also avoid a dark, bad winter if we get people vaccinated to a very high degree over the next several weeks to a month or two.”

Fauci also discussed booster shots with “The Takeout” and said he only recommends them for those people that are eligible.

However, he wasn’t concerned that over 2 million Americans have already received a booster dose, saying, “Since we have enough vaccines to not only vaccinate everybody, but boost everybody, I don't think it hurts the larger system.”

Over 182.5 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, accounting for 55% of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.