Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and other conservatives have blasted Sesame Street favorite Big Bird for claiming to have gotten a COVID vaccine in what they say is propaganda to encourage kids to get the shot.
Sesame St lore says that the imaginary bird was 6 years old. On Saturday, the fictional bird tweeted about his status and wrote: “I received my COVID-19 vaccine today!” It’ll provide me with an additional protective boost and keep my health, as well as others.
He added that CNN journalist Erica Hill ‘even said I’ve been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!’
Cruz, however, was happy to see Big Bird make a medical disclosure and quoted the tweet with the following comment: “Government propaganda for your five year old.” Big Bird sent the tweet just days after Pfizer’s approval of the COVID vaccine in children aged 5-11. Criticisms accused Big Bird of trying to impose his views on the kids.
Big Bird stated in a tweet that the vaccine “gives my body an extra protection boost that keeps us and other healthy.”
Cruz called this tweet “government propaganda for your 5-year-old”
According to Sesame street legend, Big Bird is six years old and has tweeted that he had received the COVID vaccination
Ted Cruz (Texas) was one of many conservatives that took to Twitter and criticised the Bird for receiving the vaccine.
The risk of COVID to children is not generally recognized. CDC statistics show that only 680 out of America’s 745,000 deaths from COVID are between 0-18 years old.
Although vaccines are generally safe and effective, side effects such as heart inflammation can occur in young children. Some experts wonder if the benefits outweigh the risks of side effects.
The tweets also sparked criticism from other conservatives, like FOX News host Lisa Boothe who said it was ‘brainwashing children who are not at risk from COVID,’ and Newsmax host Steve Cortes, who wrote: ‘This kind of propaganda is actually evil.
Your children are not statistically at high risk. Therefore, they should not be forced to undergo a completely new treatment. You must not obey!
Cruz’s statement was also the object of criticism. David Hogg is a Parkland School massacre survivor who became a gun control advocate.
Hogg wrote: ‘Ted Cruz is doing the job of our enemies by spreading more disinformation that’s killed over 200,000 Americans this year.
He added, “It is unbelievable that a sitting senator would tweet such nonsense.”
Hogg also replied directly to Cruz’s tweet. He recalled Cruz’s controversial trip from Texas to Cancun and Mexico. Texas, however, was subject to a severe winter storm.
‘At least it’s acceptable for birds to fly south for the winter – unlike some senators who left millions of their constituents to f****** die in the cold.’
Rep. Eric Swalwell (a Democrat from California) also wrote, “Imagine coming down more on a fiction bird than the men who called your wife ugly,” referring to ex-President Donald Trump. Cruz ran for him after losing the Republican nomination.
Walter Shaub was once the head of Office of Government Ethics. He reminded Cruz that he is vaccinated.
Parents who were vaccinated themselves say that their decision not to vaccine young children does not reflect an anti-vax attitude. Instead, they have weighed the possible benefits and potential pitfalls.
Other viewers pointed out Sesame Street no longer airs on PBS but HBO. Some also mentioned that Big Bird is active in childhood immunization campaigns dating back to the 1970s.
Sarah Wire, Los Angeles Times reporter, said that Sesame Street had helped children to understand the COVID epidemic.
She wrote that Sesame Street “has spoken to children about the Pandemic in terms they understand from the beginning. Explaining how to wash hands and use a mask, why they couldn’t attend preschool, grandma’s or go to school, as well as explaining the importance of wearing a mask.”
The six-year-old Big Bird is a great example of how children can understand the situation.
Cruz responded to criticism by tweeting: “Liberals are strange.”
They don’t care much about open borders. Or rising inflation. Schools covering up sexual assaults. The disaster in Afghanistan. Oder tyrannical Dems who violate medical freedom and pricacy.
“But, criticize Big Bird?” And they lose their s***.’
Cruz quickly faced backlash after his tweet about Big Bird.
Cruz replied to critics by saying that liberals are “weird”.
The controversy over Big Bird’s vaccination status comes days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee officially recommended Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
The members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously on Tuesday that pediatric doses be distributed in this younger age group.
The vote was then approved by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the CDC. This means that roughly 28 million US children are eligible to receive the shot.
The final step that allowed injections of young children in America was completed. Joe Biden released a statement declaring the decision “a turning point” in fighting COVID-19. He also stated they had sufficient vaccines for all American children.
The United States was one of the first to accept vaccinations for their children.
China is now offering its vaccines to children as young as three years old, while Chile has started vaccinating older children six years and over. Israel is expected to follow US lead after the CDC approves the jabs.
These countries are not the norm, and countries continue to weigh up the potential risks and the benefits. Many only offer vaccinations to children as young as 12 years of age.
Scientists in Britain warn against government officials blindly recommending jabs for young children, without considering the potential risks.
Another concern is myocarditis. It’s a type of severe inflammation that can be detected in children (mostly boys) after they have received their vaccine.
Critics argue that children would be better off getting COVID treatment and protection natural because there is a one-in-500,000 chance of them being admitted to ICU.
Although the CDC has approved Pfizer BioNTech as a vaccine that can be administered to children between five and 11, some parents still hesitate about giving their children this vaccine.
In America, however, there has been a great deal of discussion about the decision. Opponents have pointed out that little evidence suggests that children need to be vaccinated.
According to data, COVID has a low incidence of death in the older age groups. In America, children account for less that 1% of deaths from COVID.
More than 1.9 Million cases of Covid-19 were reported among children aged five to eleven years old in America. There was also more than 8,300 hospitalizations and over 2,300 cases MIS-C (pediatric multisystem inflammatory disorder). About 100 people died.
These statistics show that some parents are reluctant to get their kids vaccinated.
New survey data published on Thursday from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 27 percent of parents with kids aged five to 11 say that their children will get vaccinated as soon as it’s available.
A further 33% of respondents said they would wait to see how the vaccine works before making a decision about whether or not to immunize.
The survey found that 5 percent of respondents said their children will be vaccinated only if required by their school, and 30% say their children will not be vaccinated.
On Saturday, 67.2 per cent of Americans who are eligible had received at least one dose COVID vaccine. 58.3 Percent were completely vaccinated.
There was no data available yet on the vaccination rates of children between 5 and 11 years.
On Friday there were 1,604 deaths and 71,517 COVID cases.