CNN deploys ‘Sesame Street’ muppets to promote vaccines to children

CNN has stirred controversy and been accused of pushing “propaganda” by critics for once again deploying the ‘Sesame Street’ puppets to promote Covid-19 vaccines, this time to children.

On Saturday, CNN aired ‘The ABCs of COVID Vaccines: A CNN/Sesame Street Townhall for Families’, hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Erica Hill, in which numerous recognizable children’s characters like Elmo and Big Bird recommended children get their Covid-19 jabs now that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Pfizer vaccine for children five to 11. 

One of the muppets named Rosita says she got the vaccine because “it will help keep me, my friends, my neighbors, my abuela all healthy.” With vaccines, the muppets, exclaim, kids can do things they couldn’t during the pandemic, like have “playdates.”

Gupta mentions to the muppets that children as young as five can receive the vaccine and the more people that get jabbed, “the better we’re going to be able to stop the spread of Covid and keep everyone healthy.”

Big Bird at one point says he is scared of needles, and Gupta and Hill recommend bringing a toy from home or singing to yourself if you’re scared of getting jabbed.

CNN has received backlash in the past from critics over making the muppets part-time contributors, and the new town hall on Saturday was no different, with Twitter users accusing the network of promoting “propaganda,” made more offensive by its targeting of children.

The town hall marks the sixth time CNN has used the ‘Sesame Street’ muppets for a town hall concerning the coronavirus.

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