About 17% of U.S. population fully vaccinated, Fauci says during town hall with Rep. Val Demings

About 17% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

House Rep. Val Demings hosted Fauci in a town hall Wednesday afternoon, where Fauci stressed that everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one.

When Florida expands vaccine eligibility to those 18 and older on Monday, the state will have more shots than ever to get the job done.

READ: Florida coronavirus-related death toll tops 34,000

Fauci said the supply is there, and every week the federal government is sending more and more doses to Florida.

Next week, the state is set to receive its biggest shipment yet with more than 817,000 doses. That’s 120,000 more than Florida received this week.

Another topic that took center stage during the town hall was COVID-19 variants.

READ: Lake County schools offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all staff and students 16 and up

We know Florida has far more cases of the U.K. variant than any other state.

Fauci said the vaccines are effective against this variant, but he and his team are studying these strains closely to see if they need to make an adjustment with booster shots.

One of Demings’ constituents asked Fauci if she and her family will need a booster shot down the line to protect them from variants, or if they will need to get another dose of the same shot.

READ: Hundreds of vaccine doses arrive in Volusia County’s underserved community

“It’s entirely conceivable that, if the immune protection diminishes, that we would have to boost people against the original virus or possibly against one of the variants,” Fauci said. “This is all work in progress, but we are prepared to do both.”

Fauci said cases are creeping back up and he’s concerned people are “declaring victory prematurely.”

He said now is not the time to be loosening restrictions, and he wants the masks and social distancing to continue.

READ: ‘That would be a miracle’: Parents of medically vulnerable teens anxiously await drop in COVID-19 vaccine age eligibility

Fauci said he believes the virus will be behind us a year from now – maybe not 100%, but pretty close to it.

Cox Media Group