Star power could convince more people to get vaccinated
In this Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Tom Hanks, left, and Rita Wilson arrive at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The couple have tested positive for the coronavirus, the actor said in a statement Wednesday, March 11. The 63-year-old actor said they will be tested, observed and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
In this Nov. 4, 2016, file photo, Beyonce performs at a Get Out the Vote concert for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Could Beyoncé do for the coronavirus vaccine what Elvis did for polio?
John Woodrow Cox, The Washington Post
Dec. 19, 2020
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Beyoncé could help, it s been suggested, as could Tom Hanks or The Rock. Or maybe an athlete instead. Serena Williams, perhaps, or even Michael Jordan?
As millions of Americans continue to express reluctance or outright refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, the country s political and public-health leaders are pondering a question critical to ending the pandemic: Who can change their minds?
When the federal government faced a similar dilemma more than a half-century ago, it had a king at its disposal.
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AP, Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision
Actor Ian McKellen became the latest star to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom, BBC News reported on Thursday.
The 81-year-old actor, who has starred in the “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men” franchises, was part of a high-risk group of people who were among the first to be eligible to be vaccinated, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
McKellen said that he felt “euphoric” to receive the vaccine, according to BBC, and wrote on Twitter, “I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.”
I feel very lucky to have had the vaccine. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. https://t.co/gBLRR0OeJc Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) December 17, 2020
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Actor Ian McKellen has become the poster boy for the United Kingdom’s sprawling COVID-19 vaccine campaign, preserving the national treasure from the pandemic that has claimed the lives of 1.65 million people globally.
The 81-year-old “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men” star received his first dose of the vaccine Wednesday at the Art Pavilion in London. He praised the publicly funded National Health Service on its administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug during the pandemic. It was a much more positive celebrity-related coronavirus development out of London this week. (Side-eyeing you, Tom Cruise.)
McKellen said that he felt “very lucky to have had the vaccine” and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation. A tweet from the NHS London Twitter account quoted the veteran thespian as being “euphoric.”