Fauci says Santa Claus is 'good to go' for Christmas with booster shot

President Biden's chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci told USA Today that Santa Claus is "good to go" after he received his booster shot.

Noting that while Santa has "great innate immunity," he told the newspaper that "this year he is even more protected because he has been fully vaccinated and boosted."

"Santa will be just fine and is good to go," he added.

Fauci's comments come as health officials are urging Americans to get their vaccine shots and boosters if they are eligible as the United States starts seeing a higher number of COVID-19 infections in recent days.

The U.S. saw over 190,000 cases on Monday and registered over 42,000 the day prior. The number of COVID-19 infections has been oscillating over the last few days, but the country has reported over 100,000 cases several times over the last few weeks.

About 76 percent of Americans aged 5 years and older are at least partially vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while about 64 percent of that population is fully vaccinated.

Roughly one-fifth of Americans aged 18 years and older have received their booster shot.

Fauci's comments also come as the scientists race to learn more about the new omicron variant and how effective the existing COVID-19 vaccines are against them. Pfizer and BioNTech on Wednesday when Americans have received both of their vaccine shots and the booster, it appears to be effective against the omicron variant.

"Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it's clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine," Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, said.

"Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19," he added.