Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that the “anti-vaxxer attitude” of some Americans could potentially undermine efforts to immunize children and contain future disease outbreaks.

“I’m concerned the acceleration of an anti-vaxxer attitude in certain segments of the population … might spill over into that kind of a negative attitude towards childhood vaccinations, which would be very tragic,” said the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who plans to step down in December after half a century in government.

“If you fall back on vaccines against common vaccine-preventable childhood diseases, that’s where you wind up getting avoidable and unnecessary outbreaks,” he continued.

In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) released data showing that vaccination rates among children declined more during the Covid-19 pandemic than at any time in the past three decades.

The Covid-19 vaccination rate among U.S. adults is currently sitting at 67 percent, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

Fauci’s comments come as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on September 9 declared a state of emergency over polio in hopes of increasing vaccination rates in the state. The order will allow emergency medical services workers, midwives, and pharmacists to administer the polio vaccine and will permit doctors and nurse practitioners to issue standing orders for the immunizations.  

Health officials added that it is possible that hundreds of people in the state have gotten polio but are unaware that they are infected. “On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in a release. “If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real. I urge New Yorkers to not accept any risk at all.”

Meanwhile, during an interview on CBS 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday night, Biden declared that the coronavirus pandemic was “over.”

“We still have a problem with Covid,” Biden said. “We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over.”

His remarks, however, contradicted what Dr. Ashish Jha, White House's top Covid-19 official, told reporters earlier this month.

“The pandemic isn’t over. And we will remain vigilant, and of course, we continue to look for and prepare for unforeseen twists and turns,” he said while urging Americans to seek out an updated booster shot before this fall and winter.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Finance and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.