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Dr. Anthony Fauci says families should be able to let their children participate in trick-or-treating outdoors on Halloween, particularly those whoโ€™ve gotten COVID-19 vaccinations.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Bidenโ€™s chief medical adviser, said Sunday on CNNโ€™s โ€œState of the Unionโ€ that children should โ€œgo out thereโ€ and โ€œenjoy it,โ€ The Associated Press reported.

He also recommended for unvaccinated people to get their shots for an โ€œextra degree of protection.โ€

Fauci told CNN heโ€™s cautiously optimistic about the U.S.โ€™s daily average of new coronavirus cases dropping to about 95,000 in recent days, though he would like to see that number under 10,000 before lifting pandemic restrictions such as indoor mask mandates, AP reported.

As of Monday, the U.S. has reported roughly 44.4 million coronavirus cases and 713,000 related deaths, both tops globally, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

Currently, just 56% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against the virus despite widespread availability of vaccines, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

This correspondent is a guest contributor to The Washington Informer.

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