'Not true at all': Fauci gives DeSantis a history lesson over 'completely incorrect' claim about vaccines

Dr. Anthony Fauci offered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) a critical history lesson when he corrected the Republican governor for his careless remarks about the importance of getting vaccinated.

On Tuesday, September 7, the top infectious disease expert appeared on CNN's "New Day" where he addressed DeSantis' remarks suggesting getting vaccinated "doesn't impact me or anyone else." Fauci briefly discussed the historical timeline of vaccines and how critical they have been in the evolution of medicine.

"If he feels that vaccines are not important for people, that they are just important for some people, that's completely incorrect," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Just days ago, DeSantis rebuked the idea of vaccine passports as he argued that the form of verification is essentially pointless, reports Florida Politics.

"It's about your health and whether you want that protection or not," DeSantis said of COVID-19 vaccinations. "It really doesn't impact me or anyone else."

The Florida governor also argued that vaccinations promote divisiveness. "I also don't want two classes of citizens," DeSantis said. "We have some people in our communities who just made the decision this is something that they're not going to do. So what? You're going to write them out of society?"

However, Fauci argues otherwise. Speaking to CNN's Jim Scuitto, he continued with more vaccination history and benefits. "Vaccination ... has been the solution to every major public health issue in which a vaccine was developed for," Fauci continued. "I mean: smallpox, polio, measles. I'm not sure what people are talking about when they push back on vaccinations. It is historically, over decades and decades and decades, shown to be the way you control an infectious disease."

Scuitto highlighted DeSantis' claim about vaccine opposition having no impact on others. Fauci quickly pushed back again as he stressed the importance of vaccination and how it should not vary from person to person.

"Well, that's not true at all," Fauci replied. "I mean, obviously it's important for you as an individual for your own personal protection, safety, and health. But when you have a virus that's circulating in the community and you are not vaccinated, you are part of the problem because you are allowing yourself to be a vehicle for the virus to be spreading to someone else.

"It isn't as if it stops with you. If that were the case, then it would be only about you. But it doesn't," Fauci added. "You can get infected even if you get no symptoms or minimally symptomatic and then pass it on to someone who in fact might be very vulnerable ― an elderly person, a person with an underlying disease. So when you're dealing with an outbreak of an infectious disease, it isn't only about you. There is a societal responsibility that we all have."