Former President Barack Obama and current COVID czar Anthony Fauci surprised patients at a pop-up clinic in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, helping to urge people to get vaccinated.
More surprising, however, was their flouting of social-distancing rules at the site.
Photos from the event show both Fauci and Obama in close contact with each other, the children and other adults.
Obama, Fauci surprise families during Southeast COVID clinic@7NewsDC https://t.co/eVpSk4Ga0V
— Victoria Sanchez (@VictoriaSanchez) December 1, 2021
“Children were getting vaccinated in the gym, as the former president spoke to the children about the coronavirus vaccine while wearing his mask,” said Breitbart. “A masked Dr. Fauci stood next to him and also spoke.”
Data show that over 83% of people in the US capital have gotten at least one vaccination, versus the 71% average nationwide of people who have been jabbed once.
“Surprise visit from President Barack Obama & Dr. Anthony Fauci at the pop-up COVID clinic for kids at Kimball Elementary in Southeast Washington,” tweeted the local 7 News TV health reporter, Victoria Sanchez.
Surprise visit from President Barack Obama & Dr. Anthony Fauci at the pop-up COVID clinic for kids at Kimball Elementary in Southeast Washington. @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/OCEPopdOXy
— Victoria Sanchez (@VictoriaSanchez) November 30, 2021
Both Fauci and Obama were wearing masks as they talked to children.
However, they weren’t practicing either a 6-feet or a 3-feet rule about social distancing indoors as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The widely practiced rule that says that people should maintain a certain distance from each other has been hit recently with allegations that it is ineffective in helping prevent the spread of COVID.
Nevertheless, officials in DC and nearby Maryland mandated a three-foot rule indoors for schools last March.
“Top officials in the District and Maryland announced Thursday that they would embrace CDC guidelines and advise schools that they can operate with three feet of social distance between students in classrooms instead of the previously recommended six feet,” said the Washington Post.
Indeed the CDC reiterated the three foot rule on its website in November.
“In addition to universal indoor masking, CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms to reduce transmission risk,” said the site.
Both Obama and Fauci have been called out for ignoring official policies in the past. Fauci was caught with his mask down last year during a Washington National’s baseball game, while in close proximity of two companions.
Obama drew even harsher criticism for holding a 60th birthday party in direct defiance of mandates that recently had been laid out by his former second-in-command, current President Joe Biden, following a resurgence of the virus.
That prompted Breitbart writer John Nolte to muse that “Barry’s 60th Birthday Bash Was an Appropriate F*ck You to Joe Biden” in an Aug. 9 column.
But Biden also has demonstrated repeated difficulty with keeping his own mask on, including a recent photo of him on a post-Thanksgiving shopping spree in Nantucket where he was seen posing maskless right behind a sign that said “Masks Required.”
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
