NORTH POLE — Perhaps the number one question on children’s minds this week with Christmas approaching is whether it is safe for Santa to make millions of stops around the world with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

In Maine alone, would it be safe for Santa, and Mainers themselves, for him to climb down chimneys around a state with more than 7,800 active cases? Or even across the Midcoast which has a combined 313 cases across Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties? 

Thankfully, the answer is yes because Santa not only has sufficient levels of immunity, but because Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, confirmed in a Saturday morning town hall with CNN and Sesame Street he traveled to the North Pole to personally vaccinate Santa Claus. 

Several children asked Dr. Fauci in the town hall if it was safe for Santa to make trips to the all the houses of good boys and girls this month, with one even asking if it was safe for Santa to be near his reindeer with social distancing guidelines in place around the world. 

“I took care of that for you because I was worried that you’d all be upset,” Dr. Fauci responded. “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.” 

The nation’s leading expert on COVID-19 had previously confirmed in late November there was no concern with Santa traveling around the world as the jolly man has sufficient levels of immunity to ward off the virus thanks to his jolly goodness. 

“Santa is exempt from this because Santa, of all the good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity,” Dr. Fauci told USA Today, in November. “Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody.”