Dr. Fauci responded by claiming the data cited in the editorial "dates back to the alpha variant, not necessarily all the most recent data on delta."

 Dr. Fauci told MSNBC today that he believes state and local authorities should mandate that teachers get the Covid vaccine:

“Yeah I’m going to upset some people on this, but I think we should,” he said Tuesday in an interview with MSNBC. “This is very serious business. You would wish that p   eople would see why it’s so important to get vaccinated.”

But Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said there wouldn’t be federal mandates for teacher vaccinations. Local mandates “for schools, for teachers, for universities, for colleges” would be appropriate, he said.

“I’m sorry, I mean I know people must like to have their individual freedom and not be told to do something, but I think we’re in such a serious situation now, that under certain circumstances, mandates should be done,” he said.