Dr. Anthony Fauci and former President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to a Washington D.C. elementary school to aid in COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
'We are just getting through the holiday season and we have one more thing to be thankful for, which is that we can get kids vaccinated if they're between the ages of 5 and 11,' Obama told the crowd of students, teachers and parents at Kimball Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon.
'Nobody really loves getting a shot. I don't love getting a shot. But I do it because it's going to help keep me healthy.'
The leaders aimed to fight the stigma surrounding coronavirus vaccines.
'[The vaccinations] are really going to protect you. We know that from a lot of data, and a lot of experience we have,' Fauci told the rally.
'It's also going to help keep schools open because the more kids are vaccinated, the less likely that we're going to have a covid outbreak in the schools. And that means our kids have a chance to learn together and socialize — you know, do all the things that you're supposed to be doing when you're 5 or 6 or 7 or 11.'
Dr. Anthony Fauci and former President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to a Washington D.C. elementary school to aid in COVID vaccination efforts
The leaders aimed to fight the stigma surrounding coronavirus vaccines by encouraging families to get the jab as the Omicron variant begins to spread worldwide
The rally came as the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 has started spreading worldwide, leaving many Americans questioning if their current vaccinations will be sufficient to keep them safe.
Fauci, addressing these concerns, encouraged families to voice their vaccination concerns to a trusted medical professional.
Obama echoed his sentiment: 'I think it's really important for everyone to be informed and to talk to an informed health-care professional.
'Talk to your family doctor. Talk to your pediatrician and get the information you need to make an informed decision.'
However, critics note that the pair were preaching to an already converted crowd.
Most of the attendees at Tuesday's rally had come to the school on their own accord to vaccinate their children, the Washington Post reported. Some were even receiving their second doses.
Obama told families to speak with their doctors id they have any concerns about the shots: 'I think it's really important for everyone to be informed and to talk to an informed health-care professional. Talk to your family doctor. Talk to your pediatrician and get the information you need to make an informed decision.'
Fauci also reminded families the COVID shots are going to protect kids and keep schools open
The rally came hours after Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky took aim at frequent foe Fauci on Tuesday morning, claiming Biden's chief medical adviser is acting like the 'all-high priest of science.'
He warned against making Fauci 'untouchable' in an interview with Fox & Friends, claiming it would throttle debate outside of the doctor's own 'edicts and mandates.'
Republican lawmakers have been blasting Fauci this week over an interview he gave to CBS on Sunday during which he dismissed GOP criticism of him and his work as lies and opposition to science.
The scientist also claimed Republicans are using him as a 'scapegoat' to shield from anger at Donald Trump.
'It's sort of a way of ending all debate because if you attack him or have any debate over any of his edicts or his mandates, you're attacking science,' Paul said on Tuesday.
'But this is a very, very dangerous sort of idea. The idea that a government bureaucrat represents science and that he is now untouchable - that it is sort of like you are now contradicting the all high priest of science, if you say anything.'
The physician-turned-senator accused Fauci of 'deflecting' when confronted about his scientific beliefs.
'But there are real questions and there's real areas of science that he's never really debated because he deflects. And the thing is, there's never been a debate because he's the all-powerful scientist. You're not to question him, just do as you're told,' he said.
Rand Paul mocked Fauci by comparing him to the Wizard of Oz and claiming he shuts down debate in a blistering Fox News interview on Tuesday morning
Paul then mocked Fauci by comparing him to the Wizard of Oz.
'Dr. Fauci says he is the all-powerful Oz, and we shouldn't question him. That's a real problem in a free country,' he said.
Fauci and Paul frequently clash when brought face-to-face at Congressional hearings. Paul often criticizes Fauci during television and radio appearances.
Paul was one of two Republican senators Fauci criticized by name during his sit down with news anchor Margaret Brennan.
'My job has been totally focused on doing what I can with the talents and the influence I had to make scientific advances to protect the health of the American public,' Fauci had said when asked about the criticism and threats his public role in the pandemic got him.
'So anybody who spins lies and threatens and all that theater that goes on with some of the investigations and the congressional committees and the Rand Paul's and all that other nonsense, that's noise.'
The other GOP lawmaker name-checked during the interview was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who at a recent hearing told Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Fauci over allegedly lying to Congress.
GOP lawmakers have been going after Fauci over a Sunday interview with CBS News' Face the Nation during which he said their criticism of his work is 'anti-science'
'I have to laugh at that. I should be prosecuted? What happened on Jan. 6, senator?' Fauci replied during his Sunday interview.
Cruz and Paul along with
