Tipsheet

Mother of the Year Jen Psaki Won't Let Her Son Have Playdates at Home

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a podcast interview posted early Tuesday morning that her young son "has never had a playdate in his house before" due to her fears about COVID-19.

The admission came during an interview with Jessica Yellin on her News Not Noise podcast after a question about COVID vaccines for children who are under five years old — and, for what it's worth, among the least likely to get seriously ill from an infection.

"Parents with young children feel a little forgotten," Yellin explained adding "they want to know why is this taking so long, or what is taking a long time, and do you have any sense when those vaccines might be available?

"First of all," Psaki responded. "I have a child under five. I hear you, I see you, I understand you, I am living your life over here," she said attempting to project normalcy.

"Look, I think this is unprecedented, the speed of the vaccine development, and they want to make sure their research is thorough and that it is effective," Psaki — who is fully vaccinated but has had COVID twice — continued.

"Obviously, they kind of had to halt and they're going back and doing more research," Psaki said of unsuccessful trials for COVID vaccines for the youngest Americans. "What they're trying to do is get the dosage and get it right," she added of ongoing studies. 

"Believe me, I would like to have many playdates in my house — my son has never had a playdate in his house before because we are very careful and we do playdates at parks and we wear masks at community centers and everything like that," Psaki explained of her at-home COVID protocol that seems to be more strict than the White House's.

"I realize everyone doesn't do what I do," Psaki admitted in an obvious conclusion before admitting "I've had COVID twice so I don't know." 

"But it is tiring, exhausting," Psaki said of having to parent those too young to be inoculated against COVID. "I'm ready to have my son vaccinated," she concluded.