Dr. Anthony Fauci Talks New COVID-19 Vaccine Goals, 'Good News' about Reopening New York

Dr. Anthony Fauci is continuing to lay out the government's goals for getting more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19 before Independence Day.

While appearing virtually on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Tuesday, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) spoke about working in President Joe Biden's administration and its current health and safety plans. Fauci illustrated the goals set to get more people vaccinated ahead of July 4 in hopes of further reopening states as soon as possible, specifically New York.

"You know, the issue here is that everything we do is based on science and evidence and data. Right now the major thrust of what we're doing is implementing the vaccine plan of getting people vaccinated which has really been quite successful," Fauci told host Jimmy Fallon, who commended his work throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"The numbers of infections in this country are going down substantially, related to the fact that we now have about 50-plus percent of the adult population fully vaccinated and about 64% of the population of adults have at least had one dose of a two-dose regimen," the medical expert said.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/ youtube

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"We want to hit 70% of the adult population vaccinated by July 4. So we're really continuing to emphasize the need and the importance of getting vaccinated, not only for your own safety and health but for that of your family, as well as the community in general," Fauci continued.

Fallon went on to note that New York, where his talk show is based, is one of the 14 states that has already reached that 70% vaccination goal.

Commenting on the numbers, his guest replied: "That's really good news for New York. They have gotten a good component of their people vaccinated. That means that they will be able to open and get things back to normal in a much safer environment."

The figures are similar to California, which reopened on Tuesday. Back in April, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would lift most pandemic restrictions on June 15 - including capacity limits and other specific reopening requirements for businesses.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/ youtube

RELATED: Calif. Will Lift Most COVID Restrictions on June 15, But Statewide Mask Mandate Will Remain

However, Fauci told Fallon that that the government will continue pushing for increased vaccinations well after the national vaccination goal is hit.

"If the people want to get rid of the constraints, they want to get back to normal, to do things that we all love, get vaccinated and we'll get us there. That's the answer to all of this," he said.

Beyond the push for increased vaccines at home, Biden also announced last week that the U.S. will purchase 500 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to donate to around 100 countries in need, in an effort to get more of the world vaccinated and end the pandemic.

"This is about our responsibility, our humanitarian obligation, to save as many lives as we can," the president said in a speech in England ahead of the Group of 7 summit. "When we see people hurting and suffering anywhere around the world, we seek to help any way we can."

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