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Dr. Anthony Fauci personally traveled to the North Pole to vaccinate Santa Claus against the coronavirus, he said on CNN on Saturday morning, in a claim that BuzzFeed News cannot verify but certainly believes.
In a very cute segment on CNN geared toward teaching children about COVID-19, Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, addressed questions from kids about whether Santa got the vaccine and if it was safe for him to visit them on Christmas and deliver presents.
"Well, I have to say I took care of that for you because I was worried that you all would be upset," he said. "So what I did a little while ago, I took a trip up there to the North Pole. I went there and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself. I measured his level of immunity, and he is good to go. 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."
Santa Claus will be coming to town this year, Dr. Anthony Fauci says. “I took care of that for you,” he says. “…I took a trip up there to the North Pole; I went there and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself. I measured his level of immunity, and he is good to go.” #CNNSesameStreet
Fauci also answered questions about the vaccine, how the virus affects people, and the importance of following safety measures like wearing a mask even after getting vaccinated.
With only a few days until Christmas, Fauci and other public health experts have urged people to be cautious while celebrating to prevent another massive spike in COVID-19 numbers. The country is now sitting at a critical juncture, with vaccines signaling what may be the beginning of the end of the pandemic, as deaths and hospitalizations hit record highs.
More than 17 million coronavirus cases and 314,000 deaths have been recorded since public health officials began collecting data at the start of the pandemic.