Jon Ossoff wants you to know that all vaccines are created equal
Senator Jon Ossoff, a man who will presumably be happy with whatever vaccine he gets. Image by Getty
By Irene Katz Connelly May 4, 2021
A startling number of people have inexplicably agreed that Pfizer is the best coronavirus vaccine.
In between frantically refreshing the Walgreens website, navigating byzantine vaccine portals on behalf of aged parents, and posting selfies with sore arms, the American public has taken time to rank the various coronavirus vaccines. On social media, a consensus has formed that Pfizer is the cool one, Moderna is for dorks and Johnson & Johnson is not even to be mentioned. This bizarre hierarchy has emerged so quickly — especially on TikTok, where an audio track declaring that “only hot people get the Pfizer vaccine” has spawned hundreds of videos — that journalists are scrambling both to reiterate that Pfizer is not just for “hot people” and to find an explanation for this phenomenon. The Atlantic’s Kaitlyn Tiffany even consulted a linguist, who characterized the situation as something of a branding case study: Pfizer’s “fast-sounding” fricatives (those snappy “f” and “z” sounds) make it seem especially upmarket, he said, while Moderna’s very literal name evokes a “budget brand.”
@hotdaddyissues i failed chemistry in high school lmao ##fyp ##foryou ##funny ##vaccine ##vaxxed ##vaccinequeen
The only person immune from this trend, it seems, is freshman senator and universally-recognized Nice Jewish Boy Jon Ossoff, who would like to remind you that all vaccines are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, including the right not to be demeaned via meme.
To highlight increased vaccine eligibility in Georgia, the Senator posted a TikTok framing the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as besties, not enemies. Riffing on a popular audio track in which several women get ready for a “girls’ night out,” he tells all three that it’s “time to hit the road.”
@jon Anyone over the age of 16 is now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Book your appointment now: vaccinefinder.org
With a patchwork vaccine rollout forcing us to essentially compete for lifesaving medicine by pouncing on scarce appointments as soon as they appear, and rich countries contemplating booster shots while poor ones wait to receive any vaccines, it feels all too natural (if also all too demoralizing) to rank the jabs we’re getting — to make sure we’re getting our due. The Schmooze is unsure if Ossoff intended his TikTok as an indictment of vaccine snobbery or American individualism. In fact, I’m pretty sure he just wants Georgians over 16 to get vaccinated.
But if only inadvertently, he reminded us that while the coronavirus vaccine has become a kind of competition, it really shouldn’t be one — which is what all the best TikToks do.
I’m personally matching all gifts to the Forward, up to $36,000. Can I match your gift now?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
