Dr. Anthony Fauci has doubled down on his support for local vaccine mandates to compel the vax-skeptical to take the jab against their wishes. As the national debate over mandatory vaccines continues to rage, Democrats are doing their best to force or coerce people into being vaccinated — instead of letting it be a personal choice.

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci discussed the ongoing issues with the COVID-19 pandemic, with the conversation focusing largely on the Delta variant. Media activist Chuck Todd opened by asking Fauci about the confusion in the information coming from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as to whether vaccinated people should wear masks and whether the Delta variant would affect them. He asked, “How dangerous is this Delta variant for the vaccinated and the unvaccinated?”

Fauci replied:

“Well, it’s extremely dangerous for the unvaccinated because, if they get infected and if they stay unvaccinated and don’t wear masks, ultimately they’re going to wind up getting infected. And that’s what we’re concerned about. It is, as we’ve said, a pandemic and an outbreak of the unvaccinated.

If you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against getting infected. Since no vaccine is 100% protective, there will be what we call breakthrough infections. That’s the bad news. The good news is that almost invariably, that will be an infection — that is, either without symptoms or minimally symptomatic, which means the vaccine still protects extremely well against severe disease leading to hospitalization and deaths.”

Fauci also noted that people who have taken the jab can still transmit the disease if infected, even if they did not experience any severe symptoms due to taking the immunization. He argued that this is the reason why both the vaccinated and unvaccinated should continue wearing masks indoors – especially “when you’re in a region that has a high level of infection.”

Todd then turned the conversation towards mandatory vaccines, a measure that high-profile leftists are suggesting ostensibly as a way to curb the spread of the virus. He asked whether the Biden administration will “attempt to create the conditions to allow private businesses and other entities to do vaccine mandates.”

Fauci responded by indicating this could happen if the injection is fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which he hoped could occur in the month of August. He continued, noting that when the shot is approved, the nation will “see the empowerment of local enterprises giving mandates,” which include “colleges, universities, places of business, a whole variety.”

He added:

“And I strongly support that. The time has come and we’ve got to go the extra step to get people vaccinated. You want to persuade them, that’s good. And I believe that some people, on their own, once it gets approved as a full approval will go ahead and get vaccinated. But for those who do not want, I believe mandates at the local level need to be done.”

Several Democratic politicians have floated the idea of imposing vaccine mandates at the local level. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio enacted a measure last week that would require residents to show proof of vaccination to visit indoor establishments like restaurants and other businesses. He became the first left-leaning politician to take this step. However, so far, no other Democratic politicians have yet followed suit.

Still, it seems sensible to conclude that de Blasio’s actions might open the floodgates for other authoritarian types on the left, who continue using the pandemic as an excuse to exercise more power over the populace. On the other hand, the fact that these measures are unpopular might give some of these individuals pause. A recent survey revealed that the majority of Americans – including a majority of Democrats – oppose vaccine mandates and believe that taking the jab should be a “personal choice.”

It is highly possible that local Democratic politicians might hold off on such a move out of fear of alienating their constituents. Moreover, in many cases, it seems that Americans have grown weary of lockdown orders, mask mandates, and other COVID restrictions. At this juncture, imposing more measures might not be a politically savvy move.

However, the Democrats have been embracing policies that the public does not exactly approve of, so only time will tell whether they are willing to take the risk.