Dr. Fauci Ensures Kids He Vaccinated Santa Claus Against COVID-19

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious diseases expert, said he personally visited the [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious diseases expert, said he personally visited the North Pole to vaccinate Santa Claus from the coronavirus. Fauci made the comment during a fun segment in CNN's Saturday morning Sesame Street town hall, which centered on teaching children about the pandemic. The Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases joked last month that Santa was immune to the virus.

Fauci took questions from children during the town hall, including questions about Santa's health. "I have to say I took care of that for you because I was worried that you all would be upset," Fauci said, notes BuzzFeed. Fauci said he vaccinated Santa himself. "I measured his level of immunity, and he is good to go," he explained. "He can come down the chimney, he can leave the presents, he can leave and you have nothing to worry about. Santa Claus is good to go."

Last month, Fauci told USA Today Santa was exempt from social distancing guidelines because he has "a lot of good innate immunity." If Santa was a real person (and we are not saying he isn't), he would be at a higher risk for serious symptoms from COVID-19 due to his age and weight. However, Fauci said children did not heed to worry. "Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody," he said in November.

This week, Pfizer began distributing the vaccine it developed with BioNTech across the country, although most Americans will not be vaccinated for months. Some members of the government, including Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, were vaccinated on Friday. Later that same day, the FDA approved a second vaccine for emergency use, one developed by biotech startup Moderna.

The FDA found Moderna's vaccine to be 94% effective in preventing COVID-19. "With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stpehen Hahns said in a statement, reports NPR. Moderna plans to deliver about 20 million doses by the end of December.

More than 17.5 million Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus during the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 315,000 Americans have died, as of Saturday. There were 3,270 deaths on Thursday alone, the third-highest daily total record, reports CNN. The U.S. averaged 2,633 COVID-19 deaths daily last week.

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