Republican Senator Ted Cruz has criticized the television program Sesame Street for promoting childhood vaccination against covid-19 "without scientific evidence". The show's official account posted a tweet in which it uses Elmo, one of the most beloved Muppets, to encourage vaccination of the little ones.
Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions!
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
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2022
The popular doll asks the little ones to get vaccinated to keep "them and their entire neighborhood" safe. Ted Cruz responds with a link to his own website in which he recalls the unknowns about childhood vaccination submitted to health authorities.
In a letter to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), several representatives express their doubts about the benefits and dangers of the Covid vaccine for children under five years of age. They question the need to vaccinate young children against the virus and wonder about its possible long-term effects. Here you can read the full brief submitted to the FDA by 18 legislators.
Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions!
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
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2022
Among the legislators' concerns are the possible long-term risks of the vaccine. In this regard, the Republican senator wonders how many healthy children aged five and under with no pre-existing medical conditions have died or been hospitalized because of covid.
That is why Ted Cruz is calling for parents to be able to access all the data to decide whether to vaccinate their children. Consider that the Sesame Street video, however, does not meet those requirements. In the popular series, the character of Elmo is only three years old. Recall that the FDA authorized in June the emergency use of several covid-19 vaccines (Modernaand Pfizer) in children from six months of age.
