Ted Cruz Clashes With Sesame Street’s Elmo Over COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids Under 5
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the new COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old in June. There are people who aren't too sure whether they should vaccinate their child or not.
To help parents with questions in regards to getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19, popular children's television show Sesame Street decided to release a short video with their classic little red monster, Elmo.
In the clip, Elmo speaks with his father (who knew Elmo had an actual father?) about how the vaccine didn't hurt. Then, Elmo goes off screen so his father, Louie, could talk to parents that are still watching and encourage them to present any questions they have to their pediatrician if they're having doubts about the vaccine.
As the video made the rounds on social media, it started to reach people from all walks of life. One of those people was Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Senator Cruz went onto Twitter and thanked Sesame Street for allowing parents to question the vaccine, but then criticized the TV show for using Elmo, who's presented as a young child, to "aggressively advocate for vaccinating children under 5" with "zero scientific evidence" for doing so.
After taking to Twitter, Senator Cruz then went on to share a press release on his official website in regards to parents asking for data and paperwork regard to the vaccination of children.
Sesame Street has been known for helping small children broaden their state of mind by presenting things that they may have questions about and talking to them about those things, such as what happened during 9/11, dealing with tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, and even how to cope with death. Sesame Street doesn't just deal with big issues, but also tackles everyday scenarios, the different people children might encounter in their day-to-day life, adoption, disabilities, homelessness, plus problems like bullying, racism and drug addiction.