Big Bird backlash: Vax lands even Muppet in political flap

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In 1972, Big Bird lined up on `Sesame Street’ to receive a measles vaccine as part of a campaign to get more youngsters inoculated against the disease. However, when that same iconic 8-foot-tall children’s character tweeted last weekend he had been vaccinated against COVID-19, conservative politicians immediately pushed back, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who grilled Big Bird for what he called “government propaganda.” This latest fallout marked a new contentious flashpoint that’s plagued previous rollouts of the vaccine, just as the shot becomes available to children between the ages of 5 and 11.