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John Legend is one of those celebrities who seems to always keep busy. He tours pretty regularly and has been a brand ambassador for several companies over the years, including LG, Sperry, and most recently, Neopets. Remember Neopets?! Apparently, they’re making a comeback. John has always been pretty active in Democratic politics, too. One of Legend’s latest side gigs is as a Pfizer spokesperson to help raise awareness for the most recent Covid-19 booster. In an interview with Yahoo, John spoke a bit about his new gig, including the controversy around vaccines and all of the misinformation that’s out there.
Another way the EGOT winner stays healthy is by getting the latest COVID-19 vaccine. Legend has teamed up with Pfizer ahead of the holiday season to raise awareness about the shot.
“Some people feel like it’s controversial to talk about vaccines,” he says. “To me, it’s just intuitive.”
Legend’s motivation to get vaccinated it simple: “I want to protect my family, and I want to encourage other people to do the same.” That said, he acknowledges that some folks are skeptical.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Legend notes. “I think a lot of people have a general kind of distrust of the authority, or mandates or the establishment, and I understand that. What I tried to rely on is, I talked to my doctor, not any random person on Facebook. I believe if you listen to the experts, the evidence and the recommendation of the medical community is very clear. And I’d rather listen to them than a random average Joe on the internet.”
I really appreciate what Legend’s trying to do, just like I appreciate what Travis Kelce is trying to do. They’re probably tapping into different crowds. Quite frankly, I think that half of the American population is simply too stubborn, too brainwashed, and too contrarian to get a booster, especially since most companies don’t have mandates anymore. He’s right about the misinformation and the distrust of the establishment. While you can probably reach a certain percentage who are just not paying attention, you have an entire right-wing media ecosystem that’s actively invested in sowing doubt or making people scared, angry, or both over vaccines in general. That misinformation gets propped up through social media. Clears throat. Back in my day, people appreciated the opportunity to get protection against life-threatening diseases.
Recent data shows that only 7% of US adults have gotten the most recent Covid-19 booster. While misinformation plays a big role for half of the voting populace, I think that for the rest of Americans, part of it is probably Covid fatigue, part of it is the change in guidelines that don’t make it an automatic two-week timeout from society if you test positive, and part of it is that a lot of people (like me) got Covid in the fall, and the current CDC guidelines say that if you’re recently gotten it, you can delay a booster by up to 3 months. If you’ve been putting off getting your Covid booster, here is your reminder. We got our flu shots last month, but are finally going to get our boosters on Election Day since my kids are off from school. Covid boosters and voting! It’s going to a morning of public responsibility.
photos credit: IMAGO/RW/MediaPunch / Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
Just my opinion but I think his wife has damaged his credibility a bit.
According to my vaccination records…I’ve gotten Covid vaxxed every 6 months since 2021…got the updated Covid vax in September & will get Novavax in the Spring…I’m immunocompromised & I KNOW that being vaxxed to the max helped keep me alive when I was exposed to Covid in December of 2021❤️
I got my f!u and COVID booster at the end of September. It was easy and the only reaction was a sore arm. Peop!e, go get your boosters!
Same! I got it with my flu shot at the end of September, and my 18 month old (who brings home every daycare germ under the sun) just got his flu and Covid shots last week as well.
I got my Covid booster and flu shot on the same day, then went back a week later for the RSV shot. Now I’ll probably get a scorcher of a common cold!
When I went to pick up my medication at the end of August, the pharmacist said I might as well get my flu shot now. I asked if it was too early and they said it takes AT MIMIMUN 2 to 3 weeks to properly be effective.
I got the current booster as soon as it was avaliable, and I was still not charged anything for it.
I know that I can stil get the flu, but I know I won’t be hospitalized for it. The same with Covid.
And since I wear my mask out in public still, not only have I not gotten Covid, nor have I had a cold, the flu, and my allergies have been under control.
It’s is shocking and also sad that people don’t realized that what vaccines are for.
Oh yeah. You can still catch influenza even when vaccinated, but it’s much more bearable if you’re vaccinated. I caught influenza one year when I missed my shot. I was a healthy 20-something and I still felt like I was dying for two weeks. It was the worst I’ve ever felt. I’m actually not surprised vulnerable people can die from it. Having access to vaccines has helped us forget how intense some of these illnesses really are.
He’s also the Brand Ambassador for Neopets, lol.
I love that he’s a spokesman for Pfizer, though. He’s right. There’s so much misinformation – and willfully ignorant people – out there.
Yes, absolutely – the right answer is to get the vaccine and every booster. I got my little the vaccine on the first day it was available, I cancelled work for it and took him out of school to stand in a long line in the hot sun, and I was so relieved to finally get the shot in that arm that my eyes welled up.
And, there is a deep mistrust in certain communities for new vaccines or even medicine, that did not come about simply through ignorance or poor decision making. There is horrific garbage like the Tuskegee experiments (which supposedly went to 1972!?!?!) that just cannot ever be truly amended for.
Uhhhh….how about they work on making the booster accessible & easy to get. I don’t know if we are aware, but most people in this country do not have a regular doctor, old timey pharmacist or health insurance that cares.
Would so appreciate more accessibility! There’s only one place I can find it available in the this rural county w many elderly people and so many people w preexisting conditions – and yet when we showed up for our flu / Covid booster apt a few weeks ago, they said they were out of stock and the system shouldn’t have let us make the apt online. They want us to make the apt and then call ahead to confirm stock the day of before we drive over.
Compared to the general population here we’re young, healthy and informed w reliable transportation – and it’s been challenging for us to figure out where to go let alone get it scheduled.
Speaking of which … I should go try to get us scheduled again …
I just got my booster not quite 2 weeks ago. I recently saw my daughter’s uncle post about not getting it “cause reasons” and I fired back with a comment. (something I rarely do) I asked him why he’s so against vaccines when he is VACCINATED!! I told him “Remember? We had to get certain vaccines to attend school!” I cannot wrap my head around this line of thinking that all of a sudden vaccines are bad? He didn’t comment back – probably because he didn’t have one?
I just looked at some stats, and in the US 15 million people had gotten the shot by 10/27. Last year 23 million had gotten the shot by the same time. I think it needs to be publicized better. I keep thinking with the kids in school and everyone inside instead of outside, we’re all going to see the number of people who get Covid is going to rise.
I’ve not stopped using my mask and I don’t intend to any time soon. If you have a county health department close, ask them if they’ll be giving vaccinations. In my county, they will give it to you for free or for any amount you can afford. That’s how it should be.
It makes me feel like there is a blame game going on here. I live in the city. Pharmacists are walking out or quitting. The pharmacies are short staffed and limited hours.
I live in the third largest city for my State. Our health department, which is one of the best in the country, just got the vaccines in last week.
WalMart does my vaccine. I live in WalMart country. My WalMart just scheduled my husband and me for November. That is when they are getting their Pfizer batches in and will have some extra phrmacists.
It is a bit frustrating. There is an RSV children’s vax too. Seven percent is unfair. I think there is a bigger number waiting to get the vaccine.
I am happy that John is a spokesperson.