Ho ho ho and 'good to go': Fauci gives Santa virus vaccine

Santa Claus can safely deliver gifts to good girls and boys on Christmas, after a special visitor went all the way to the North Pole to deliver a coronavirus vaccine.

Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease official in the United States, said Saturday he personally gave Old St Nick his jab.

"I took care of that for you because I was worried that you'd all be upset," he said Saturday during a CNN and "Sesame Street" coronavirus town hall for families, after worried youngsters asked whether Santa could safely enter homes on December 25.


"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," Fauci declared.

"He can come down the chimney, he can leave the presents ... you have nothing to worry about."

Fauci's good news comes as countries around the world are experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases, with millions in England and Italy preparing to celebrate the holiday under tough "stay at home" orders.

The United States, the country that has seen the most deaths linked to Covid-19, launched its mass vaccination campaign this week.