Vaccination PSA Starring 'Sesame Street' Character Elmo Blasted for Wrongly Appealing to Kids

A group of anti-vaccine advocates is protesting a video that shows Elmo from "Sesame Street" getting a vaccine shot from the surgeon general. The National Vaccine Information Center [NVIC] voiced their criticisms via the morning program, "CBS This Morning," telling its host that the public service advertisement (PSA) was anything but cute.

In a statement aired on television and reported by other news outlets, the group said that using the red-haired, well-loved character Elmo to encourage kids to get vaccinated was inappropriate.

"Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that, like all pharmaceuticals, carry a risk of reactions that can lead to injury or death and parents are legally responsible for making informed decisions for minor children about medical interventions that can cause harm," said the group's co-founder and president, Barbara Loe Fisher, as published via TheWrap. She added that the video showed "deceptive messaging" while eliminating information about the risks of the vaccine.

Apart from NVIC, another group, the Thinktwice Global Vaccine Institute, is also criticizing the video. "We're not happy about it. I wonder if it's even legal for the government to advertise vaccines to children," said a representative who also spoke with TheWrap.

The video, which you can watch below, shows Elmo talking to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy who tells the muppet the benefits of vaccination. Murthy compares getting shots to carrying an umbrella when it rains, or wearing a helmet when riding a bike. He uses these scenarios to convince a nervous Elmo. By the end of the short PSA, Elmo then bravely gets injected and dances to "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift.

Produced by the Daily Dot in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the idea behind this PSA is one of Murthy's first major public health initiative, according to the media outlet. It has already gone viral, receiving over 5,689 shares on Facebook and 180,683 views on YouTube as of press time.

As the 19th Surgeon General of the United States, Murthy, 37, was confirmed to his post in December 2014. The scope of his job includes the communication of scientific information to the public and further the cause of public health. As a doctor, he received his training from Harvard and Yale. He is also a research scientist and a clinician-educator, as indicated in his page at the Surgeon General's website.

Here's the controversial video, which had anti-vaxxers up and arms: