WATCH IT: Fauci, DC Mayor Bowser rejected as they sell COVID vaccine door-to-door

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Fauci speculates a coronavirus lab leak could still be considered a 'natural occurrence'

Dr. Anthony Fauci speculated Saturday during an appearance on CNN that a COVID lab leak could still be considered a "natural occurrence."

Dr. Anthony Fauci and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser were subjected to intense scrutiny from a man who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine while Bowser and Fauci went door-to-door in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood to promote the vaccine in 2021.

The exchange was documented by PBS for an upcoming program on Fauci as part of its "American Masters" series, which aims to help viewers "discover insightful profiles of important figures in America's artistic and cultural life."

In a clip from the program titled "Dr. Fauci visits D.C. to battle vaccine hesitancy," Fauci and Bowser are shown in June 2021 walking the streets of Ward 8 of Anacostia in southeast D.C. – a historical African-American neighborhood that Fauci called "disenfranchised" with low vaccination levels. At the time of the video, Fauci was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

One man challenged the renowned doctor and the Democratic mayor by saying that "the people in America are not settled with the information that's been given to us right now."

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"So, I'm not going to be lining up taking a shot on a vaccination for something that wasn't clear in the first place," he said.
 
He pressed Fauci and Bowser about the length of time it took to develop the vaccine and said, "Nine months is definitely not enough for nobody to be taking no vaccination that you all came up with."

Bowser defended the vaccinate by saying, "The only reason I'm talking to you right now, as close as we are, is that I've been vaccinated," as she stood about six feet from the man on the front porch of his home.

"But if thousands of people like you don't get vaccinated, you're going to let this virus continue to percolate in this country and in this world," Bowser said.

"Something like the common flu then, right?" the man interjected.

Fauci defended the vaccine by saying that the technology to develop it had been in the works for 20 years, and that in 2020, approximately 30,000 people died from the flu compared to the reported 600,000 deaths by COVID-19 as of June 2021.

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The man appeared unmoved, challenging the data by saying, "Again, that's you all's number."

The man said he "definitely" would pass on getting vaccinated "because when you start talking about paying people to get vaccinated, when you start talking about incentivizing things to get people vaccinated, it's something else going on with that."

The man, right, told Fauci, left, that he "definitely" would pass on getting vaccinated "because when you start talking about paying people to get vaccinated, when you start talking about incentivizing things to get people vaccinated, it's something else going on with that." (PBS)

"[Your] campaign is about fear. It's about inciting fear in people. You all attack people with fear. That's what this pandemic is. It's a fear, it's fear, this pandemic. That's all it is," he said as Fauci and Bowser walked away.

Another woman also challenged the duo, saying, "I heard that [the vaccine] doesn't cure it, and it doesn't stop you from getting it."

"No," Fauci replied. "On the very, very, very rare chance that you do get it even if you're vaccinated, it's a very – you don't even feel sick. It's like you don't even know you got infected. It's very, very good at protecting you."

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According to vaccination data available on Bowser's website, there have been at least 60,000 breakthrough COVID cases in her city.

At another point, Bowser asked Fauci, "What are we going to do about those other states?" referring to states that refused to mandate the vaccine.

"Oh my God, they're going to keep the outbreak smoldering in the country," Fauci replied.

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"It's so crazy. I mean, they're not doing it because they say they don't want to do it. They're Republicans. They don't like to be told what to do. And we got to break that, unpack that," he said.

According to PBS, Fauci allowed cameras to follow him since 2021 for the upcoming program, which will air on March 21.