Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a briefing on Wednesday that, due to the surge in cases thanks to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Americans should not gather in large groups this Christmas season even if people have received the vaccine and a booster.
The reason why Fauci said it is not wise to congregate in large groups even if someone has all the shots is that they would likely not know the vaccination status of other people.
"There are many of these parties that have 30, 40, 50 people in which you do not know the vaccination status of individuals," Fauci said at a briefing, according to Axios. "Those are the kind of functions in the context of Omicron that you do not want to go to."
Only small groups of people who know the others are fully vaccinated and boosted should get together for the holidays, Fauci explained.
In a previous interview, Fauci went so far as to say family should disinvite people who are not vaccinated.
REPORTER: "If someone in your family isn't vaccinated, should you ask them not to show up?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 22, 2021
ANTHONY FAUCI: "Yes. I would do that." pic.twitter.com/2bPiSp2qVc
Fauci conceded the Omicron variant appears to be a milder strain than other variants. Dr. Angelique Coetzee, one of the first doctors in South Africa to treat patients with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, told CNN on Monday they have seen a decrease in COVID cases in the region where the Omicron variant was first detected. While South Africa did see an increase in COVID cases with the Omicron variant, they did not see a rise in hospitalizations or deaths.