First lady Jill Biden praised Dr. Anthony Fauci as an American hero during a visit to a vaccination site on Thursday.
“Did you meet our American hero here?” the first lady asked the crowd as she held Fauci’s arm.
Fauci briefly put his hands over his masked face in response to the round of applause.
The first lady and Fauci visited the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, to promote coronavirus vaccines for children.
Jill Biden told the children not to worry about getting their shots.
“It’s so fast, it’s like you don’t even realize it’s over,” she said, speaking to a child.
“You know what? It’s better if you don’t look,” Jill Biden said, offering advice to the student.
One health care worker told Fauci about a person who described the vaccine shot as a “Fauci ouchie.”
Fauci laughed with Biden as the first lady replied, “That’s cute.”
Biden again praised Fauci as they took questions from reporters.
“Dr. Fauci’s here. You know who doesn’t love Dr. Fauci?” she asked. “I think every American loves Dr. Fauci.”
Fauci bowed slightly toward the first lady as the rest of the room applauded.
The first lady, Fauci, and all medical officials in the room wore masks at the vaccination site, even though they had been vaccinated.
Fauci warned Americans that mask mandates were still important for the unvaccinated after the Centers for Disease Control updated the mask guidance last week.
“Unfortunately some people interpreted that as everyone can get rid of their mask, which is not the case,” he said.