NEW YORK — Beloved “Sesame Street” character Elmo has received his first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Variety, the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, which produces the long-running children’s TV show, shared a public service announcement Tuesday starring the Muppet, typically described as 3 1/2 years old, and his father, Louie.
“I had a lot of questions about Elmo getting the COVID vaccine,” Louie said in the video. “Was it safe? Was it the right decision? I talked to our pediatrician so I could make the right choice. I learned that Elmo getting vaccinated is the best way to keep himself, our friends, neighbors and everyone else healthy and enjoying the things they love.”
Elmo admitted that he felt “a little pinch” during his vaccination, “but it was OK.”
“Elmo was really glad to have Daddy and Baby David there with him,” the preschooler added, referring to his favorite toy.
Sesame Workshop said in a news release that it produced the PSA “in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ... and American Academy of Pediatrics.”
Elmo and his dad, Louie, share their experience with COVID vaccination and encourage other families to get vaccinated. Louie reminds parents of the importance of vaccines in protecting children and keeping them healthy. #CallYourPediatrician if you have questions. pic.twitter.com/KjmzAdObO7
— American Academy of Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds) June 28, 2022
But the video drew criticism from some conservatives, notably Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who took to Twitter to share his concerns.
“Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions!” Cruz wrote. “You then have @elmo aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5. But you cite ZERO scientific evidence for this.”
Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions!
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2022
You then have @elmo aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5.
But you cite ZERO scientific evidence for this. Learn more:https://t.co/Ss20TmFTSB https://t.co/tr67QyfRyC
Earlier this month, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, signed off on the advisory committee’s recommendation to allow children under 5 to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
“All children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated,” the CDC said in a June 18 news release announcing the decision. “COVID-19 vaccines have undergone – and will continue to undergo – the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.”
Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech announced this spring that interim data showed their vaccines were safe and prompted strong immune responses in young children.
We published data indicating that a low dose of 3 µg of our #mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, carefully selected based on tolerability data, is effective and provides children under 5 years of age with a high level of protection against the recent #COVID19 strains. https://t.co/EenuqWzVLt pic.twitter.com/VyDDKqJJg8
— BioNTech SE (@BioNTech_Group) May 23, 2022
The requests are based on a 25 μg two-dose primary series of mRNA-1273. https://t.co/Jv0Jo0Gtyq
— Moderna (@moderna_tx) April 28, 2022
As of Tuesday, the rate of new COVID-19 cases appeared to be rising slightly domestically and by a larger margin globally, according to The New York Times. The U.S. was averaging 108,963 new cases per day, up 3% from two weeks earlier, the newspaper reported. Meanwhile, the worldwide average was 697,797 new cases per day, up 33% from 14 days earlier.
As for fatalities, the U.S. averaged 377 deaths per day – an increase of 17% from two weeks earlier, the newspaper reported. The global average was 1,500 daily deaths, up 3% from 14 days earlier.
The CDC reported Sunday that 66.9% of the U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. About 47.3% of fully vaccinated residents have received a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the agency said.
©2022 Cox Media Group
