It's conservatives vs. Sesame Street: Some on the right are decidedly unhappy with the stance the children's television show has taken on the coronavirus vaccine. "I got the COVID-19 vaccine today!" tweeted the account for the character of Big Bird, who is depicted as a 6-year-old, soon after the vaccine was made available to 5- to 11-year-olds. "My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy." He added that he just found out he's "been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!" Rosita, a Muppet who is depicted as a 5-year-old, also got vaccinated on CNN. Cue outrage, NPR reports:
- Ted Cruz: "Government propaganda…for your 5 year old!" Cruz tweeted. A perusal of his Twitter timeline shows he's since continued tweeting about Big Bird for days.
- Mike Cernovich: "What’s the treatment for myocarditis in birds?" he tweeted, a reference to a rare vaccine side effect. Robby Starbuck tweeted along the same lines, and then got even darker.
- Steve Cortes: "This kind of propaganda is actually evil," he tweeted. "Your children are not statistically at risk, and should not be pressured into a brand new treatment. Do Not Comply!"
- Lisa Boothe: "Brainwashing children who are not at risk from COVID. Twisted," she tweeted.
- Lavern Spicer: "Big Bird & Elmo are at least a step UP from Fauci, but using them to push the drug is just as reprehensible nonetheless," she tweeted.
There are a lot more where those came from, some of them
obscenity-laced. Meanwhile, plenty of other big names in the government, media, and showbiz were applauding Big Bird, and quite a few pointed out that he's been getting vaccinated
since the 1970s and wondering why it's suddenly considered propaganda.
MSNBC confirms that the 1971 measles vaccine episode appeared to make not a single wave back when it aired. (More
coronavirus vaccine stories.)
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