New Jersey Department of Health advertises children demanding COVID vaccines for Christmas

At least one state-level health department has rolled out an advertising campaign targeting minors ages 5 to 11 in promoting the COVID vaccine. The FDA granted emergency authorization for the jab in this age group earlier on in December.

"Dear Santa…. I don’t want games. I don’t want toys. Just get me the COVID vaccine!" the child actor says.

"This holiday season there’s no better gift than peace of mind. Get vaccinated today," the narrator says before plugging New Jersey’s official site at the end of the segment.

The YouTube version of the clip has garnered nearly two million views but only six likes at the time of writing. It was uploaded after YouTube decided to remove public visibility for dislikes across the board, early on in November 2021.

As a point of comparison: the only other prominent time that vaccine advertisements targeting children came up in 2021 was when CNN partnered with "Sesame Street" for some kind of promotional spot.

In President Biden’s Tuesday remarks about the nation’s COVID response moving forward, he dedicated a segment to urging parents to get their kids vaccinated. He said on the podium that "six million children" in the USA from ages 5 to 11 have done so, so far.

A few weeks ago,  the story of a California parent speaking out about her child getting vaccinated without her consent made headlines. She says her son was approached at his Los Angeles school to get the jab in exchange for pizza.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously expressed his enthusiasm for his country’s young children to get their COVID shot as soon as they turn five-years-old.