Dr. Anthony Fauci said that it’s possible that COVID-19 vaccines will become mandatory in order to travel to other countries or attend school.
“Everything will be on the table for discussion,” Fauci, who will be chief medical adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, told Newsweek.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases stressed that it’s “not up to me to make a decision,” but added that “these are all things that will be discussed [under the Biden administration].”
“I’m not sure [the COVID-19 vaccine] going to be mandatory from a central government standpoint, like federal government mandates,” Fauci said, though he added that he’s “sure” some individual institutions will require the shot.
Fauci said that vaccine requirements in schools are “possible,” but they would come from mandates at either the state or city levels.
“A citywide school system might require it in some cities but not other cities. And that’s what I mean by things not being done centrally but locally,” Fauci said.
In regards to travel, Fauci said that the US could potentially issue COVID-19 vaccine passports — similar to the ones planned for Israel that would allow residents to travel abroad without being tested for coronavirus.
The coronavirus vaccine might also become required by other countries to go there, Fauci said.
“So we, in this country, don’t require [people] to get a yellow fever vaccine when you go some place. It’s the place to which you are going that requires it,” he said.
About 3.2 million initial doses of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been given to Americans since the inoculations were first approved last month, according to a Bloomberg tally.
