US1 min(s) read
Published 16:16 21 Nov 2020 GMT
Doctor Anthony Fauci - the United States' top infectious disease expert - has provided a glimmer of hope for children all over the world.
Speaking on USA Today this week, Fauci hinted at a somewhat normal Christmas for 2020 when he told families that Father Christmas has an "innate immunity" to Covid-19, and therefore can still make his festive deliveries on Christmas Eve.
"Santa is exempt from this because Santa, of all the good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity," Fauci said.
Fauci's message will no doubt be music to the ears of children, who are desperate to receive their Christmas gifts and who are eager to maintain some semblance of the festive joy they're experienced in the past.
"Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody," Fauci - the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH - added.
(Then again, are children really going to be surprised? We all know Santa Claus is superhuman anyway!)
On social media, many people shared their praise for Fauci's comforting words:
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Fauci's announcement comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans to avoid traveling around Thanksgiving and to not spend the holiday with family members or friends from outside their household.
Writing on their official website on Thursday, the CDC states: "The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful and isolating for many people.
"Gatherings during the upcoming holidays can be an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. This holiday season, consider how your holiday plans can be modified to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to keep your friends, families, and communities healthy and safe."
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Per The Hill, Fauci's comforting words also come after Dr. Gina Song, a pediatrician at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Illinois, said:
"Santa does not want the kids to line up waiting to see him because he doesn't want to spread germs. Santa gets sad if the kids or their families are sick.
"So this year, Santa will be watching you from afar, giving you the gift of good health and will only visit when no one is around on Christmas Eve."
This comes after pharmaceutical corporations Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine has shown that it is 95% effective in preventing Covid-19 disease, offering another much-needed light at the end of the tunnel.
