The Covid-19 pandemic has dominated life around the globe for more than a year now, but a light has recently appeared at the end of the tunnel. The introduction of vaccines alongside other measures such as social distancing and mask mandates has allowed humanity to fight back against the highly contagious virus.
In the United States alone over 200 million doses administered have already been administered, with more than 3 million being added each day. While the scientific community is convinced that vaccination is the way out of this crisis, there are plenty of questions and uncertainties surrounding this process.
To help address the most pressing of these, the New England Patriots released a PSA to inform about the vaccination. Team captains Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty and Patriots legend Andre Tippett are starring in the video that also features three medical experts: Dr. Shahrzad Slater, the wife of the Patriots Pro Bowler, as well as Dr. O’Neil Britton and Dr. Sebastian Hamilton.
Together, their goal is to address the vaccination hesitancy that exists especially among People of Color.
“I think like many of us over the last 12 months I’ve had a lot of questions,” Matthews Slater said in the PSA. “What exactly is going on? What is Covid? Is what they’re saying is happening really happening? I think many of us have had these questions. Certainly one thing that I’ve looked at is how this does affect People of Color. This also leads to another series of questions; as a Black man you wonder about, ‘How’s this going to affect my family on a personal level?’
“When I first heard that a vaccine was coming out, I thought to myself, ‘There’s no way I’m taking this vaccine. It’s been rushed. How’s it out so quickly? Explain the science to me.’ I didn’t understand.”
Devin McCourty had a similar message and explained how information helped him change his stance on the vaccine.
“I’m probably like a bunch of you guys. When the vaccine was first spoken about, I said, ‘No way. No shot I’m getting the vaccine. Keep it as far away as possible from me.’ But I’ve been very fortunate to sit on three or four Zoom calls with three or four different doctors,” he said.
“As a Black man in today’s society I was fortunate to hear Dr. Hamilton speak to a group of people. And the one thing that stood out for me was as he said, ‘Getting a vaccine is a personal decision.’ But I was able to think about this personal decision because I was equipped with all the information; I was educated. So, I’m urging everyone, please educate yourselves, find out if this vaccine is for you. And if it is: Jump in, jump in fearlessly!”