The Muppets of “Sesame Street” are promoting vaccines on television and on Twitter, and it’s both weird and cute (we love it).
Following the recent approval for children ages 5-11 to receive COVID vaccines, “Sesame Street” stars Big Bird, Elmo, Rosita and Oscar the Grouch are being deployed to explain the benefits of the shot to their kid fans.
The thing played out first on CNN via a video chat with Rosita, Big Bird, Elmo, CNN reporter Erica Hill and CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta about getting shots.
Then after it aired, the “Sesame Street” characters started tweeting, among them Big Bird who, apparently, got the vaccine.
We’re not complaining, but has the vaccine even been approved for Birds, or puppets? JK this is adorable.
Big Bird and his grandma Granny Bird talked with Dr. Gupta about getting shots.
Oscar the Grouch tweeted in the same vein, tagging Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett in his surprised post about vaccine symptoms.
Elmo also tweeted about Gupta’s advice.
Of course, Bert and Ernie also got in on the fun.
And so did Grover:
Awww.
It isn’t the first time the Muppets have come together to encourage vaccination. In an older video with his dad Louie, Elmo talked about things to look forward to after adults started getting the jab in May.
“Elmo and I are feeling hopeful and excited,” Louie said at the beginning of the video. “Woo-hoo!” Elmo chimed in. “Elmo can’t wait to have an indoor playdate with Abby!”
“We’re excited because lots of grownups are getting the COVID-19 vaccine,” Louie continued. “Soon, lots of us will be able to do our favorite things again.”
“Oh, oh, like Elmo and daddy can share cookies with Cookie Monster at Hooper’s Store,” Elmo added.
After Louie announced that he got his shot, showing a bandaid on his arm to prove it, Elmo also said, “Oh, oh, oh, Elmo knows what Elmo wants to do first: Visit Nana. Elmo misses her so much. Elmo can’t wait to give her this card.”
Even Gonzo and Pepe got the jab back in May, and they left a video message on YouTube about it.
“Getting vaccinated means we are one step closer to getting back to normal,” Gonzo said after the pair revealed their vaccination status.
“Sí, even if you weren’t ‘normal’ to begin with,” Pepe the Prawn continued.
“So get informed on vaccines now,” Gonzo said. “Yeah, give it a shot,” Pepe added, looking at Gonzo for a reaction, “See what I did?” These two muppets encourage viewers to visit GetVaccineAnswers.org at the end of their video.