Celebrities posting their COVID vaccine selfies are using their massive platforms for the greater good
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Darcy Schild
Apr 6, 2021, 01:28 IST
Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, and Ryan Reynolds posted pictures from their vaccine appointments.Dolly Parton; @mariahcarey/Instagram; @vancityrecords/Instagram
Celebrities getting the COVID-19 vaccine are doing the right thing by posting about it online.
Publicly backing the safe and effective doses could make a difference amid the pandemic.
Celebrities have large followings, and setting the right example is the least they can do to help.
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President Joe Biden's administration recently announced that it's launching a new campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, and it underscores the influence of well-known figures among their fans.
Biden's administration seems to have recognized that each famous face pictured in a post-COVID-shot selfie could be reaching thousands of devoted fans in the touch of the "post" button on Instagram - and that shouldn't be overlooked.
Mariah Carey said in an Instagram video that she was initially "a little nervous" to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but was more "excited." It's a combination of feelings that's likely relatable to people who feel inclined to look away from the needle but are eager to hug their friends and family, travel safely, and reap the protections and benefits of being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
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"Encouraging you guys to do it when you can," the singer said after the shot.
A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey)
Dolly Parton, who has been fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine - which she helped fund the development of with a $1 million donation in 2020 - urged people to get the shot with a tweaked version of her song "Jolene," which went like this: "Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine / I'm begging of you please, don't hesitate."
But as vaccine skepticism continues to threaten the bright future of a post-pandemic society, celebrity vaccine selfies and videos aren't just endearing - it's possible that they could have a real impact.
In the past, celebrities have used their influence to promote health campaigns
Elvis Presley famously set a precedent for celebrities taking on health activism when he received the polio vaccine live on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1956.
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The vaccine was made available in the US the year prior, and the rock-and-roll icon's appearance was meant to encourage vaccination among teenagers.
Presley's vaccination TV spot may have had a domino effect, as young Americans then formed a group called Teens Against Polio, as researchers Michelle O'Shea, Patrick van Esch, and Sarah Duffy said in The Conversation.
The youth-led organization started its own outreach campaign, hosting events like dances where vaccination was a requirement to attend - and it was a success in boosting vaccination rates, the researchers wrote.
Posting vaccine selfies is the least celebrities can be doing to help
Today's vaccine campaign might not have an Elvis, but it does have the power of Instagram.
Even if they're not the ones being called on by a national health campaign, today's pop-culture icons with large followings have a responsibility in times of crisis to set a positive example - and that goes beyond writing a check, as Insider's Claudia Willen previously wrote.
"Scientists are always translating in their head when they deal with the public from the jargon that is their profession to what they think people can understand. The celebrity, in many ways, can do that better," Offit said.
Health historians Agnes Arnold-Forster and Caitjan Gainty wrote in The Conversation that celebrity influence over fans or supporters isn't always straightforward, especially when it comes to celebrity-endorsed health campaigns.
Arnold-Forster and Gainty also pointed that skeptics of the COVID-19 vaccine could have many reasons for not wanting to make an appointment - a fact that's highlighted by a mid-February study from the Pew Research Center.
Respondents listed various concerns for not wanting the vaccine, with the most common being worries about side effects, a "sense that vaccines were developed and tested too quickly," and a desire for more information about the vaccines' efficacies.
For people on the fence about getting vaccinated who refuse to consider information from government entities or public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, maybe - just maybe - they'll open their minds if a celebrity chef whose recipes fill their kitchen cabinets or the star behind their favorite music gets the shot, too.
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