"I would stay away from that," Fauci said told CNN when asked about whether residents should hold New Year's Eve parties. "[W]hen you're talking about a New Year's Eve party, we have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating. You do not know the status of their vaccination, I would recommend strongly stay away from that this year".
However, Fauci approved of small family gatherings with individuals who are fully vaccinated.
Last week, the United States reported an average of 150,000 new daily coronavirus cases and no deaths. Health officials in South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first detected, have said infections occurred in vaccinated individuals and the cases are mild.