There’s a new COVID variant out in the wild (and already some misinformation about it), and while it appears it’s not as dangerous as the last one, it’s still yet another thing to worry about. For the cold open of one of its last episodes of 2021, SNL took on this latest anxiety. Kate McKinnon returned as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s ever-patient, ever-beleaguered top immunologist, to allay some fears and welcome some guests.
“Do people still think I’m sexy? People see me on TV, and they think, ‘Oh, this can’t be good. That Elf on the Shelf got old,’” McKinnon’s Dr. Fauci said. “Most recent data suggests that if you had a vaccine and a booster, you should be pretty well protected. So, if that’s you, I’d like to officially say: Unclench.’”
He was there to answer some questions: “Is it safe to travel?” “Can I still use this as an excuse to get out of of stuff?”
There were some friends, too, among them two disgraced brothers, Andrew and Chris Cuomo, who claimed that they “both lost our jobs because of COVID.”
There were also Cecily Strong as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Chloe Fineman as Lauren Boebert. “The government has been using this fake disease to strip us of our freedom. Do they think we’re dumb?” Strong’s MTG asked.
“Please. Would they give a dumb person a gun?” Fineman’s Boebert added.
“They said the shutdowns were until they found a vaccine. Then, they found a vaccine and said it worked. Then, they said everyone should get it,” Strong said. “Then, people got it, and it saved their lives. If that’s not Communism, then, honey, I might not know what Communism is.”
Eventually Aidy Bryant swung by as Ted Cruz, telling people, “If you’re sick of seeing me, imagine how sick I am of being me.”
You can watch the sketch in the video above.
