Dr. Fauci says there's 'no doubt' children 3 years and older should be wearing masks, and gets furious blowback

Dr. Anthony Fauci faced online blowback after saying there was "no doubt" that children as young as 3 years old should all be wearing masks.

Fauci made the comments Tuesday during an MSNBC interview, where he was discussing guidelines for children in the upcoming school year.

"You know that children under the age of 12 who are not eligible for the vaccines, generally do not get sick, don't get COVID or don't get as ill with it, but what does this spread mean for them, for children under the age of 12, and what's the timeline for when they might become eligible?" asked MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell.

"Well, a couple of questions, and the answers are the children who are not able to get vaccinated because of their age should follow, their parents should follow with them, the guidelines of the CDC. That unvaccinated children of a certain age greater than 2 years old should be wearing masks," Fauci replied.

"No doubt about that. That's the way to protect them from getting infected, because if they do, they can then spread the infection to someone else," he explained.

"So the CDC guidelines for unvaccinated people including children are not changed at all," Fauci added.

Many took to social media to assail Fauci.

"We're going to make low-risk children suffer to protect unvaccinated adults? C'mon. We have to begin caring about the kids," replied strategist Rory Cooper.

"I can't believe it's July 2021 and this man is still spouting nonsense on our televisions without any serious follow-up questions. What an embarrassment," responded New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz.

"Masking children is unscientific and cruel. Fauci is a fraud and a media whore," replied former Trump campaign aide Steve Cortes.

Fauci also addressed the controversy over Pfizer calling for emergency authorization for a third booster shot in order to avoid a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic because of variants. He defended the pharmaceutical company and said that the data from Pfizer was helpful but only a part of the official rationale for whether boosters would be approved.

"People need to understand that pharmaceutical companies don't make the decisions," Fauci said. "This becomes a regulatory issue with the FDA and a public health recommendation with the CDC and their advisory committee on immunization practices."

Here's part of the interview with Fauci on MSNBC:

Dr. Fauci Speaks About Why 'We're Not There Yet' On Vaccine Boosterswww.youtube.com