Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird are doing their part to spread the word about Covid-19 vaccines.
In a new public service campaign, cast members of “Sesame Street” explain why adults are getting vaccinated with a simple idea: Getting vaccinated means sunnier days are ahead.
“Our children and families want us to be healthy,” Louie, Elmo’s dad, says in one video. “That’s why I and lots of other grown-ups got the Covid-19 vaccine, so we can stay healthy and get back to the moments we miss, like seeing our friends and family.”
Elmo, in another video, talks about being excited for indoor play dates with friends and sharing cookies with Cookie Monster.
The Letter U also makes an appearance, riffing on Billie Holiday’s “I’ll Be Seeing You” (an earlier version of this story incorrectly referenced Nina Simone).
“I’ll be seeing you in all of our favorite places with laughter and warm embraces all day through,” the Letter U croons. “The park where we play, the stoop across the way, that favorite cookie smell and Big Bird’s tree we love so well.”
The ads are part of a promotional effort to combat Covid-19 vaccine skepticism that launched in February, backed by the Ad Council, a nonprofit advertising group, and a coalition of experts known as the Covid Collaborative. Four former American presidents and their first ladies participated in a similar campaign earlier this year.
Over the course of the pandemic, “Sesame Street” has produced public health segments for children on the importance of hand washing and social distancing with Grover, mask wearing with Oscar the Grouch, and going back to school with Elmo.
