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The video is short.
Elmo, the famous red puppet from Sesame Street, has just been vaccinated against COVID-19 and his father, Louie, congratulates him.
Louie admits that he had doubts, but he consulted a pediatrician who told him that immunizing Elmo, who is 3 1/2 years old, was the best way to keep him and his family and friends safe.
The clip, published on June 28 and which has more than a million views on the social network Twitter, ends with a voice saying:
"It's okay to have questions about COVID vaccines for your children"
, while inviting you to consult to specialists and authorized medical sources.
The video was shared that same day by the Republican senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, who congratulated Sesame Street for recognizing that parents have doubts about vaccines and attacked Elmo for "aggressively defending" the immunization of children under 5 without , according to Cruz, citing scientific information that supports it.
It is not the first time that Ted Cruz criticizes a character from the popular children's show,
broadcast since 1969 in English, and a couple of years later in its Spanish version.
In November 2021, the Republican senator described the tweet in which Big Bird
had been vaccinated
as "government propaganda" for children .
The controversy with the yellow bird, which according to its creators is 6 years old, arose in November after the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). for its acronym in English).
[CDC Licenses Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Six Months to 5 Years]
Now that the CDC has given its go-ahead for the immunization of children from 6 months to 5 years old, the Elmo video emerges as part of the bilingual campaign of
Sesame Workshop
, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street, to respond to Frequently asked questions about vaccination.
"With the help of Elmo and his dad, Louie,
we want to show real conversations
, encourage questions from parents, and help kids know what to expect," Jeanette Betancourt, vice president of US Social Impact for
Sesame Workshop
, said in a statement .
posted on your website.
Since the controversy over Cruz's tweet, we verified five facts about children, vaccines and COVID-19, three of them mentioned by the senator and other congressmen in a June 7 letter to the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA for its acronym in English) and two figures cited by
Sesame Workshop
in its press release
.
☑️ "Children have a 99.98% survival rate"
According to the summary of infant mortality data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Association of Children's Hospitals, the percentage of
childhood cases of COVID-19 that result in death is 0.01%
.
From May 21, 2020, to June 9, 2022,
1,055 children have died as a result of the virus,
this is 0.11% of the total 926,863 deaths registered in the country.
The report does not include recent dates "due to the low number" of states reporting death metrics.
How safe are COVID-19 vaccines for infants and school children?
An expert answers
June 20, 202204:05
In the same study from which Cruz extracted the data, he warns about the "urgent need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of the disease related to the new variants, as well as the possible long-term effects" of the virus in the "physical, mental and social well-being of this generation of children and youth".
Some children infected with the virus may develop severe lung infections, become seriously ill and require hospitalization."
Physicians at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Although correct,
the figure cited by Cruz is used to dismiss the need for vaccines
, ignoring that these will prevent not only deaths but also infections and possible prolonged effects of the disease, which is why we believe that this statement
lacks context.
☑️ "In 2022 alone, almost 5.7 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in children"
2021 ended with almost 8 million COVID-19 infections in children and in the latest figure recorded by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Association of Children's Hospitals, dating from June 23, there are already more than 13 million. cases, that is, 18.8% of the total in the United States.
Florida Governor Contradicts Scientists and FDA Over Vaccine for Children Under 5
June 16, 202200:21
In 2022, up to 1.15 million cases were reported in one week.
Based on the available records, we conclude that
Sesame Workshop
's claim
is true
.
☑️ "Children under 5 years of age will be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with two doses of the Moderna vaccine four weeks apart, or three doses of Pfizer's BioNTech vaccine"
In the case of the Moderna vaccine, two doses are needed, one month apart between the two injections for those between six months and 17 years of age.
Those with "certain types of immunosuppression" may receive a third dose a month after the second, the FDA said.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires three doses, the first two three weeks apart and the third "at least 8 weeks after the second dose in persons 6 months to 4 years of age."
In California, the first children under 5 years of age are vaccinated against COVID-19
June 21, 202202:31
Specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital warn that children under the age of two, black or Latino children, children who were born prematurely, with obesity or chronic problems may face more severe cases of COVID-19.
"Vaccination reduces the risk of infection, but more importantly, it
significantly minimizes the risk of hospitalization and death from this and other variants
," explained Aaron Milstone, a doctor and specialist in pediatric infections at that hospital.
The data offered by
Sesame Workshop
is
true
.
☑️ "These mRNA vaccines lack long-term safety studies". Ted Cruz.
In his letter to the FDA, Cruz questioned the medical trials to which the vaccines were subjected, their efficacy and "risks" in young populations, among which he mentioned myocarditis and pericarditis, which are defined as an "inflammation of the heart muscle" and an "inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart".
The Republican senator asserted that "not only
have there been several deaths
" from these two effects, "but the long-term effects of those who suffered cardiac inflammation have not yet been quantified by public health officials."
"It's a peace of mind for everyone."
Families celebrate the COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 years of age
June 16, 202202:20
Let's start with the affirmation of safety studies.
In a press release dated June 18, 2022, the CDC stated that "COVID-19 vaccines have undergone—and will continue to undergo—the
most intense safety monitoring in United States history
."
The FDA, for its part, assured that it "exhaustively evaluated the available data to guarantee the safety and efficacy" of the same.
[With enthusiastic parents and other cautious ones, vaccination against COVID-19 begins for the little ones]
The agency said it conducted safety follow-up for at least "two months after the third dose" and will continue to follow "long-term" participants enrolled in clinical trials.
Elmo, the famous Sesame Street character, told in a video that he received the COVID-19 vaccine.
The clip was criticized by Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Paul Zimmerman/WireImage
So far, some of the reported side effects are swelling at the injection site, fever, headache, chills, nausea or vomiting.
For children between 6 and 36 months of age, "irritability or crying, drowsiness, and loss of appetite" were reported.
"With the help of Elmo and his dad, Louie, we want to show real conversations, encourage questions from parents, and help kids know what to expect."
Jeanette Betancourt Sesame Workshop
The FDA clarified that the "known and potential benefits of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines" outweigh the risks for this group and that they will continue to evaluate any signs of "serious adverse events."
Regarding myocarditis and pericarditis, the CDC acknowledges that, after a second dose of the vaccines,
chest pain, shortness of breath, and the sensation that the heart beats faster or with more strength
.
[Education Secretary says many students have not been vaccinated due to misinformation]
The FDA clarified that after "moderate treatment" symptoms are relieved, "with no impact on quality of life for most patients who were contacted for follow-up 90 days or more after reporting myocarditis."
CDC says there is a link between myocarditis in young people and the COVID-19 vaccine
June 23, 202100:37
"Considering the hundreds of millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that have been administered,
these reports are scant
," doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital said.
Myocarditis is a much more common complication from being infected with COVID-19 than from getting vaccinated."
Allison Messina, specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Neither the FDA nor the CDC cite deaths as a result of these inflammations.
The senator does not say an exact figure or the source that confirms such assertion.
"More information will be released as it becomes available," the CDC says.
Taking into account the foregoing, we consider that there is still
a lack of evidence
to determine the veracity of Cruz's two affirmations.
