Tag: vaccine

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Pandemic Pandemic Art Pandemic Relationships

Hot Vax Summer

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.

Hot Vax Summer search term

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.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Dr. Fauci

Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci serves as the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, a position he has held since January 20, 2021. He has advised many Presidents on local and global health concerns such as HIV/AIDS. Dr. Fauci also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a position he has held since 1984. You can read more about his extensive research into infectious diseases here.

Dr. Anthony Fauci attending a
pandemic update April 7, 2020

Whether you like him or not, Dr. Fauci has become a household name and is the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. He has given extensive interviews in the media concerning the pandemic, mask wearing and vaccinations.

An article published on 22 March 2020 for The Guardian entitled “Coronavirus: meet the scientists who are now household names” discusses how medical experts found themselves in the ‘Covid-19 spotlight.'” Speaking of Dr. Fauci, correspondent Jon Henley writes “Anthony Fauci has earned praise from the US public for telling the truth about coronavirus, even when it means contradicting the president” (Henley).

A new term was added to the dating lexicon in February 2021. To “Fauci” someone is to cut off a relationship with a person who doesn’t take social distancing or the pandemic seriously as this Twitter interview with Dr. Fauci confirms:

Social Media Trends as of May 1, 2022

Facebook #fauci: 53,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #fauci: 103,174 posts
TikTok #fauci: 322.2 million views
YouTube #fauci: 4,000 videos and 1,600 channels

Google Trends: dr fauci achieved peak popularity during the week of October 25, 2020.

dr fauci search term

Sources

“Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director.” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. URL: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/director.

HBO Documentaries. “AXIOS on HBO: Dr. Anthony Fauci (Promo) | HBO.” Twitter. February 14, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/HBODocs/status/1360997229557936128?ref_src=twsrc^tfw.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Vaxxed and unvaxxed

To vax, or not to vax? The answer to this question is beyond the scope of this blog. Whether you are for or against vaccination, these two terms have entered the Covid lexicon.

Only the Urban Dictionary had an entry for vaxxed/vaxed: “When you have received a vaccination you are / have been vaxed.
– I better see you guys vaxed up so we can party soon.“

I had more luck finding unvaxxed in a dictionary. Merriam Webster’s definition is “not having received a vaccine : unvaccinated
– unvaxxed students
– New York City’s Covid vaccine mandate has barred the unvaxxed NBA superstar from entering Brooklyn’s home arena on game days.“

An article published on September 13, 2021 for CNBC news had both terms appearing together in the title: “As many return to the office, tensions flare between the ‘vaxxed and unvaxxed.’” Columnist Holly Ellyatt writes: “Now, as many employees return to their offices, tensions appear to be emerging along new lines: those who are vaccinated against Covid, and those who are not. In the U.S. in particular, companies have taken a rigorous approach toward employees’ Covid vaccination status, with many announcing that their staff must be fully vaccinated in order to return to the workplace.”

A news article entitled “The political divide between the vaxxed and unvaxxed is widening, according to new report” appeared in Fortune.com on September 28, 2021 and discussed the differing views of vaccines and boosters depending on whether you consider yourself a Democrat or a Republican (Alsever).

A YouTube video clip posted on May 18, 2021 discusses the Red Wings taking on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Seating is allocated at 50% for vaccinated individuals, who must show photo Id and proof of vaccination, and unvaccinated people get the other 50% (News 8 WROC).


Social Media Trends as of April 28, 2022

Facebook #vaxxed: 38,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #vaxed: 6,600 posts
TikTok #vaxxed: 96.7 million views
YouTube #vaxxed: 1,000 videos; 256 channels

Facebook #unvaxxed: 2,500 people are posting about this
Instagram #unvaxed: 1,160 posts
TikTok #unvaxxed: 102.5 million views
YouTube #unvaxxed: less than 100 videos and channels

Google Trends: vaxxed didn’t get much traction till the week of May 9, 2021 when Covid vaccines became widely available. The term peaked in popularity during Christmas 2021 and the first week of 2022.
unvaxxed did not register as a search term until the second week of May 2021 and slowly moved up in popularity as many businesses enforced vaccine mandates. The term peaked during the week of January 9, 2022.

vaxxed search term
unvaxxed search term

Sources

Alsever, Jennifer. “The political divide between the vaxxed and unvaxxed is widening, according to new report.” Fortune.com. September 28, 2021. URL: https://fortune.com/2021/09/28/the-political-divide-between-the-vaxxed-and-unvaxxed-is-widening-according-to-new-report/.

Ellyatt, Holly. “As many return to the office, tensions flare between the ‘vaxxed and unvaxxed.’” CNBC.com. September 13, 2021. URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/13/office-tensions-rise-between-the-vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-.html.

Jflo2000. “Vaxed.” Urban Dictionary. March 16, 2021. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Vaxxed.

“Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders New PNC Field.” News 8 WROC. YouTube. May 18, 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKdbKJV2eO0.

“Unvaxxed.” Merriam Webster Dictionary. URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unvaxxed.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Vax

Vax is short for vaccine and can also be spelled “vaxx.” It’s not a new word and was first recorded in English in 1799. It’s derivative words, “vaccinate” and “vaccination” appeared in the year 1800.

Collins Dictionary defines vax as: “short for vaccine: a substance put into a person’s body to prevent them getting a disease.”

Lexicographers at Oxford English Dictionary chose “vax” as Word of the Year for 2021. A BBC News article writing about this said: “Words related to vaccines have spiked in frequency in 2021 due to Covid, with double-vaxxed, unvaxxed and anti-vaxxer all seeing a surge in use. OED senior editor Fiona McPherson says vax was an obvious choice as it has made ‘the most striking impact’. ‘It goes back at least to the 1980s, but according to our corpus it was rarely used until this year. When you add to that its versatility in forming other words – vaxxie, vax-a-thon, vaxinista – it became clear that vax was the standout in the crowd.’ Vax and vaxx are both accepted spellings but the form with one x is more common.“

The word appears frequently in news articles. A cursory search of the news using Google found an article entitled: “Dozens of NYC educators placed on leave for alleged fake vax cards” that was published on April 21, 2022 in the New York Times.

“Blue Bombers drop vax mandate, but are they dropping the ball?” is the title of an article that appears in the Winnipeg Sun for April 25, 2022.

2021 Word of the Year

Social Media Trends as of April 26, 2022

Facebook #vax: 19,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #vax: 103,561 posts
TikTok #vax: 328.5 million views
YouTube #vax: 1,600 videos; 672 channels

Google Trends: I set the analytical search tool to the beginning of 2004 for vax. It peaked in popularity during the month of October 2021.

vax search term

Sources

Bamberger, Cayla. “Dozens of NYC educators placed on leave for alleged fake vax cards.” The New York Times. April 21, 2022. URL: https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/nyc-eddozens-of-nyc-educators-placed-on-leave-for-alleged-fake-vax-cardsucators-placed-on-leave-for-alleged-fake-vax-.cards/.

Friesen, Paul. “Blue Bombers drop vax mandate, but are they dropping the ball?” Winnipeg Sun. April 25, 2022. URL: https://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/blue-bombers-drop-vax-mandate-but-are-they-dropping-the-ball.

urbanbuzz. “VAX Oxford English Dictionary word of the year.” Shutterstock.com. Standard License. Royalty-free stock vector ID: 2067447635.

“Vax.” Cambridge Dictionary. May 11, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Maskhole.

“Vax declared Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year.” BBC News. 1 November 2021. URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59089596.

Categories
Vaccine

“I got my Covid vaccine”

To encourage take up of the Covid vaccines, governments and other health agencies produced stickers saying “I’ve got my Covid Vaccine” and variations of tit which were given to people who got vaccinated. Some created Facebook photo frames advocating support for the vaccination effort. Wearing the sticker and/or updating one’s Facebook photo frame can influence others to make the choice to get vaccinated.

In an article for USA Today, tech reporter Jessica Guynn writes: “Facebook is rolling out ‘I got my COVID-19 vaccine‘ profile frames. The frames, which come in English and Spanish, were created with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…Facebook will show you a summary in News Feed of how many people in your social circle or that you follow are using the frames. The increased peer pressure from the world’s largest social network comes as worries grow that not enough people want to get vaccinated even as more contagious COVID-19 variants spread” (Guynn). Featured below are a few stickers advocating vaccination.

CDC vaccination sticker
New York vaccination sticker
NHS vaccination sticker
NHS Facebook vaccination photo frame

Social Media Trends as of May 10, 2022

Facebook #igotmycovidvaccine: people are posting about this
TikTok #igotmycovidvaccine: 56,300 views
YouTube #igotmycovidvaccine: Less than 100 videos and channels

Google Trends: The phrase “I got my Covid vaccine” peaked the week of April 25, 2021 which coincides with the Federal, state and local government mass vaccination campaigns.

I got my Covid vaccine search term

Sources:

Guynn, Jessica. “How to add ‘I got my COVID vaccine’ frame to your Facebook profile.” USA Today. April 1, 2021. URL: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/04/01/facebook-covid-vaccine-profile-frames/4829274001/.

“I’ll get my Covid vaccine” sticker. UK Government: Department of Health and Social Care. 19 February 2001. URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-campaign-to-support-vaccine-roll-out-backed-by-social-media-companies-and-british-institutions.

“I got vaccinated!” sticker. New York State Department of Health. URL: https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/education.

“I’ve got my Covid vaccine” sticker. Massachusetts Department of Public Health. URL: https://massclearinghouse.ehs.state.ma.us/mm5/graphics/00000001/1/IM248_540x545.png.

“I’ve had my Covid vaccine” Facebook photo frame. National Health Service. 19 February 2001. URL: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10159236232656543&id=310316436542&_rdr.

Categories
Vaccine

Vax-A-Million

To encourage take up of the Covid vaccine in Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced on May 12, 2021, the Vax-A-Million lottery. According to an article on WebMD, “the [lottery] awards $1 million to five vaccinated adults and a full-ride scholarship to Ohio public colleges to five vaccinated teenagers. On Wednesday, the first broadcast aired announcing two winners: Abigail Bugenske won the $1 million draw, and Joseph Costello won a scholarship” (Oliver).

Eligibility was open to permanent residents of Ohio aged 18 or older who had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine by the Sunday prior to each drawing. Although state law required that prizes be awarded to residents aged 18 or older, an exception was made for minors aged 12-17. Those who had been vaccinated would be awarded a full scholarship to any public university in Ohio. The lottery lasted five weeks.

The state of Ohio logo used for the Vax-A-Million lottery

Social Media Trends as of May 5, 2022

Facebook #vaxamillion: people are posting about this
Instagram #vaxamillion: 672 posts
TikTok #vaxamillion: 96,000 views
YouTube #vaxamillion: less than 100 videos and channels

Google Trends: A few days after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced the lottery, the search term Vax-A-Million reached peak interest during the week of May 16, 2021.

Vax-A-Million search term

Sources:

“Ohio Vax-A-Million” logo. Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:OhioVAM.jpg&oldid=1023910299.

Oliver, Dejania. “Ohio Announces First Vax-a-Million Winners.” WebMD. May 27, 2021. URL: https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20210527/ohio-announces-first-vax-a-million-winners.