VIDEO - Fauci urges Trump to tell supporters to be vaccinated | TheHill

The nation's top infectious disease expert warned Sunday that a new wave of COVID-19 infections could be on the way while urging former President Trump Donald TrumpThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Split screen: Biden sells stimulus; GOP highlights border Democrats move smaller immigration bills while eyeing broad overhaul Social media platforms on the right fail to maintain post-Jan. 6 growth MORE to tell his supporters to be vaccinated.

Speaking with Chris Wallace Christopher (Chris) WallaceThe Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - What's happening on the US border The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden to hit road, tout COVID-19 relief law Fauci urges Trump to tell supporters to be vaccinated MORE on "Fox News Sunday," Anthony Fauci Anthony FauciFormer coronavirus testing czar says it's 'very important' for Trump to encourage followers to get vaccinated Blumenthal slams Facebook, Twitter 'woefully inadequate' policies on vaccine misinformation White House would welcome Trump urging supporters to get vaccinated MORE pointed to surges across the European Union and warned that Europe's case trends tend to be a few weeks ahead of similar trends in the U.S.

Europe "always seem to be a few weeks ahead of us," Fauci said, adding that it was "absolutely no time to declare victory" over the virus.

"They thought they were home free, and they weren’t, and now they are seeing cases going up," he said of European health officials.

Asked by Wallace what could be done to combat vaccine skepticism in the U.S., particularly among Republicans, Fauci urged Trump to tell his supporters to get vaccinated.

"It would be very helpful for the effort for that to happen. I’m very surprised by the number of Republicans who say they won’t get vaccinated," he said.

"I think it would make all the difference in the world" if Trump were to express support for vaccines, Fauci said. "He’s a widely popular person among Republicans."

"I just don’t get it, Chris, why they don’t want to get vaccinated," he added.

During a separate appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Fauci said it's "disturbing" that Trump voters are choosing to not get vaccinated.

"We've got to dissociate political persuasion from commonsense, no-brainer public health things," he said.

"[Vaccines have] rescued us from smallpox, from polio, from measles," he added. "What is the problem here?"

His remarks come just days after a PBS poll found that nearly half of all Republican-aligned men said they would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, a result that has vexed health officials around the country seeking to drive down case rates.

More than 101 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the U.S. so far, and in a national address last week, President Biden Joe BidenThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Split screen: Biden sells stimulus; GOP highlights border RNC to shadow Biden as he promotes COVID-19 relief bill Dems' momentum hits quagmire over infrastructure plans MORE pledged that all American adults would be eligible to receive the vaccine by May 1.

Updated at 10:26 a.m.