Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the priority in the U.S. coronavirus response is not 'getting boosters,' but making sure that those who still have not been vaccinated get the jab.
'Our highest priority still, is getting the unvaccinated vaccinated, and there should be no confusion about that,' Dr. Fauci told NBC News' Meet the Press host Chuck Todd.
'The highest priority is not getting boosters,' he said. 'We think it's important to get boosters to people, but the overwhelming highest priority is to vaccinate the unvaccinated.'
The clarification came after Todd asked the nation's top immunologist about the prioritization of boosters shots and whether it's a 'luxury'.
The Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee voted last week to recommend against the Pfizer booster shot for the general public. Shortly after, however, it did approve the shot for elderly Americans and those with pre-existing conditions.
'I don't think a booster is a luxury,' Fauci told NBC.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that 'the highest priority is not getting boosters' but getting COVID shots to unvaccinated Americans
Vaccinations rates severely decline in the spring and summer
He also explained in an interview Sunday morning on CNN's State of the Union that while he is old enough to receive the booster – at 80-years-old – he has not yet gotten it.
'I am 80 and I'm an elderly person,' he told host Jake Tapper. 'I will certainly get a booster.'
Fauci, who heads President Joe Biden's coronavirus response task force, said that he doesn't think the FDA made a mistake by not yet advising booster shots.
'They did that in the proper, deliberative process and they came up with a recommendation, which I think is a good recommendation,' Fauci said.
He noted that the populations for
