Get that shot, make it hot
Everybody get your card out
Take your mask off
Stick your tongue out
Get your taste back
Shake that ass
It’s a Hot Vax Summer
Wallet Jackson (2021)
It’s been almost a year since vaccinated Americans were ready to go outside once more and celebrate the summer after months of being cooped up indoors, under lockdown, quarantined and fear of catching Covid-19 – hence the phrase “Hot Vax Summer.”
The earliest reference to this phrase is an article published on March 25, 2021 for Scary Mommy: “Adults both partnered and single reported little desire to get it on, whether due to a lack of dating options in quarantine or increased stress thanks to trying to manage work, family, and everything else on top of, you know, worrying about you and your loved ones contracting a deadly virus – but it seems the tides, they are a-changin’, because “hot vax summer” is upon us” (Tschinkel). The article describes the challenges caused by lockdown and quarantine and how people can’t wait to “abandon Zoom and socially distanced meet-ups” so they can actually hang out with people in person and connect with them. Many people were stuck indoors, afraid to go out for fear of catching Covid-19 and some put their dating life on the back burner for over a year. With the freedom that vaccines brought, many felt it was time to go out and let their hair down to enjoy a hot vax summer.
An article published on May 29, 2021 for CNN said “This weekend kicks off ‘Hot Vax Summer,’ an unofficial term meaning that vaccinated Americans are ready to go wild and make up for lost time. We’re going on vacation again, drinking heavily (still), dressing up and eating out” (Valinsky). Dating, happy hour, wining and dining and music concerts were some of the activities people were looking forward to.
The phrase “Hot Vax Summer” is the name of a popular song released in 2021 featuring artists Wallet Jackson and Avocado Banks. They have a website of the same name here where you can download a free “Hot Vax Summer” wallpaper for your cellphone and buy a “Hot Vax Summer” T-shirt with some of the proceeds going to UNICEF to assist with procuring vaccines for countries that can’t afford them.
Social Media Trends as of May 24, 2022
Facebook #hotvaxsummer: 2,500 people are posting about this
Instagram #hotvaxsummer: 8,130 posts
TikTok #hotvaxsummer: 2.5 million views
YouTube #hotvaxsummer: less than 100 videos and channels
Google Trends: “hot vax summer” first appeared during the week of March 21, 2021 and reached its peak that summer before leveling off.
Sources:
Content Discontent. “Hot Vax Summer (official lyric video).” YouTube. April 23, 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkbrHMPxKLY.”
HOT VAX SUMMER (feat. Wallet Jackson & Avocado Banks) Lyrics.” Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. URL: https://www.lyrics.com/lyric-lf/6015759/Wallet+Jackson/HOT+VAX+SUMMER+%28feat.+Wallet+Jackson+%26+Avocado+Banks%29.
Tschinkel, Arielle. “‘Hot Vax Summer’ Is Coming, Because We All Deserve Human Touch After 2020.” Scary Mommy. March 25, 2021. URL: https://www.scary
mommy.com/covid-vaccine-hot-vax-summer.
Valinksy, Jordan. “7 signs that summer is about to be lit.” CNN. May 29, 2021. URL: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/29/business/summer-2021-back-to-normal/index.html.