SHE’S ‘DR.’ GRETA?

On CNN virus panel

An upcoming CNN town hall on the coronavirus pandemic will feature 17-year-old Greta Thunberg alongside a panel of medical experts.

The program, “Coronavirus Facts and Fears,” also includes CNN medical reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta, former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Richard Besser. CNN anchor Anderson

Cooper will cohost with Gupta.

Critics were baffled by the choice to place a teen climate activist on a panel with public-health experts.

“What place does Greta Thunberg have in this town hall?” Twitter rabble rouser Yashar Ali asked of his 618,000 followers.

In a follow-up tweet, Ali clarified, “I understand that but this is a panel of top health experts and administrators. A climate activist would be better suited on a different panel. She’s not a climate scientist. It’s a matter of placement.”

CNN’s social-media pages were soon hit with an onslaught of virtual eye-rolls.

“Greta Thunberg? Now, she’s a COVID expert? @CNN is a joke!” reads a top response to the network’s Wednesday announcement.

“Not picking on the kid,” said another. “Picking on a ‘news’ network for featuring a child to inform the public.”

“I remember when my thread about E. coli in Romaine lettuce went viral and trended on Twitter only to have CNN put Food Babe on the air to discuss the issue,” tweeted Dr. Eugene Gu, referring to another controversial health “expert” in the media. “Greta Thunberg on this panel is an improvement from that at least.” Some came to Thunberg’s defense, including more than a few public figures.

“Unqualified men appear on cable all day every day, bloviating endlessly, but Greta Thunberg is a bridge too far? Ok,” tweeted writer Roxane Gay.

Actress Patricia Arquette wrote, “She has extraordinary knowledge and she is the next generation that is left to clean this mess we’ve made.

“They wouldn’t have her there if she wasn’t a powerful voice.”

Thunberg (inset) has remained mum during the social-media firestorm, but the Swedish teen hasn’t spent the past three months lounging in lockdown.

On April 30, UNICEF said she had launched a children first campaign to help protect young lives against COVID-19, pledging a $100,000 grant awarded to her by Danish NGO Human Act toward the effort.

“Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child-rights crisis,” said Thunberg.

“It will affect all children, now and in the long-term.”