Dr. Anthony Fauci received backlash after he claimed on Sunday that it is "too soon to tell" if Americans can hold gatherings for Christmas amid the coronavirus cases in the United States.

Fauci made his comments in a CBS interview and was asked if Americans can hold gatherings for Christmas. He then answered that "it's too soon to tell," contending that they need to continue and concentrate on getting the number of COVID cases down and "not try to jump ahead by weeks or months and say that we're going to do at a particular time."

Fauci urged the people to "focus like a laser" on continuing to lessen the COVID cases. The nation's top infectious disease expert added that the nation could lower COVID cases across the country through vaccinations.

Fauci then said that booster shots would also help, contending that additional jab "greatly" diminishes infection and "advanced diseases."

Currently, Americans aged 12 and above are eligible for the virus, and only 65.2 of the said age group have been fully vaccinated.

Critics of Anthony Fauci's Christmas Gathering Claims

Critics quickly responded to Dr. Fauci's claims as they took to social media to voice out their thoughts.

Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw on Sunday said that he will throw a "giant Christmas party," as he quoted Fauci's interview in his tweet.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senate Candidate Sean Parnell told Fauci to "go away" in a statement, contending that they celebrated the holiday as they held gatherings with their families in the previous year.

Other people who criticized Fauci for his claims included personalities and reporters such as Stephen Miller, a political commentator. He noted that Dr. Fauci does not "differentiate between his hypochondria and guidance of public health policy," which was based on medical fact.

According to the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency still recommends not attending large gatherings and events. The agency also failed to provide numbers that will define large and small gatherings.

However, CDC pointed out that large gatherings bring many people from different households together in a public or private place. In contrast, small gatherings are informal and may include family and friends.

Fauci Warns About COVID Surges Despite Progress

In a separate interview, Dr. Fauci sounded the progress of the U.S. against coronavirus but warned that surges of the cases can continue.

"We certainly are turning the corner on this particular surge... but we have experienced over now close to 20 months surges that go up and then come down and then go back up again," Fauci said in the interview.

According to reports, coronavirus-related hospitalizations dropped by more than 30 percent over the last month. Fauci then noted that a positive turnaround will be maintained if the cases continue to go down.

The positive turnaround on COVD-related hospitalization came after deaths related to coronavirus in the U.S. surpassed the 700,000-mark on Friday, as revealed by the John Hopkins University.

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Written By: Joshua Summers

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