Jolly Kris Kringle has been cleared for travel this Christmas season, allaying the worries of some children who didn't want him to catch the coronavirus while traveling all over the world.
On CNN Saturday, Elmo from Sesame Street presented questions from three children who wanted to know: Would Santa Claus be protected from the virus?
"How can Santa Claus safely give out presents with COVID-19 spreading everywhere, how can he do it?" Connor, a 9-year-old from Mount Holly, New Jersey, asked. Other children from California and Illinois had similar questions.
The nation's leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, joined the network Saturday to reassure the kids.
"I took care of that for you, because I was worried that you'd all be upset," Fauci said. "I took a trip up there to the North Pole, I went there, and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself."
The pandemic has been tough on children, many of whom have learned virtually for months. Others wrote letters to Santa this year about their worries for their family's and friends' health and returning to a normal life after the pandemic.
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But there's some hope: Fauci said he measured Santa's immunity levels and "he is good to go."
