Just before receiving her second Pfizer vaccine on April 2, Bella Sabino said she could not browse through TikTok without seeing a bunch of videos declaring Pfizer a ‘hot vaccine’.
“People really make it a funny joke … you know, Johnson and Johnson versus Pfizer versus Moderna,” said Sabino, 19, who is studying at Fordham University in New York.
After being fully vaccinated, Sabino lip-synced the sound she had heard time and time again, the one that determined those who got Pfizer “hot” as she lifted her sleeve to reveal the patch where she had found it. shot.
‘Um, only hot people get the Pfizer vaccine’, announces the popular sound recorded by TikTok user ‘idrinkurmilkshake’. ‘If you got Moderna, I do not know what to tell you, Queen. This message is being brought to you by Pfizer gang. ‘
Like millennials and Gen Xers who post ‘vaccine selfies’ on Twitter, more young people are using the moment to create vaccine-oriented trends on TikTok as they become eligible. Among the first such trends is competition against vaccines.
Like the “Pfizer gang”, those with Moderna explain themselves better than the country singer Dolly Parton who donated $ 1 million for its creation. Many have joked that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was the ‘Walmart vaccine’ because its effectiveness was lower than that of Pfizer or Moderna, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Everyone loves a little bit of competition, whether it’s sports or something like that. It definitely brings out the noise and excites people,” said Lena Daniels, 22, of Orlando, Florida, who received her first Pfizer vaccine on April 6.
The CDC reported that about 9.5 percent of people in the United States who received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine were 18 to 29 years old.
Daniels said most people she knows who are her age are excited to be vaccinated, and the rivalry on TikTok is a sign of the excitement.
“Most people my age are very progressive in their thinking process and they are just excited to get their lives back, and because they are so close to summer, everyone is so excited to start traveling and get their lives back on track. get, “she said.
Daniels also posted a video on audio about Pfizer for ‘hot people’ while showing the Band-Aid on her arm. She said her comments were filled with people joking that TikTok’s algorithm had become scary by showing them Daniels’ video just after they also received a Pfizer vaccine.
“Some of the comments are like, ‘How did everyone know I got Pfizer? All my TikToks are about Pfizer.’ And just a nod to TikTok’s algorithm to know everything about us, honestly, “Daniels said.
Some have used the vaccine and vaccine contests as a way to show that they have been vaccinated, but also to alleviate the fears that their loved ones may have that the vaccine will make them sick.
“I wanted to show a little humility about how I was vaccinated, so I did it to show my friends and family – my family is a little skeptical about the vaccine – I wanted to show them that it’s totally good,” said Tiffany Selberg. (20) of North Carolina, scheduled for her second recording of Moderna on Monday, April 12th. “This is something that many people in Gen Z use to unite and fight the virus.”
In March, after her first dose, Selberg posted a video on TikTok of her vaccine card with a caption titled “MODERNA GANG RISE UP.”
While the vaccine contests do not appear to be used to spread misinformation about the vaccine, TikTok offers a banner on videos discussing Covid-19 vaccines that can connect viewers to an in-app coronavirus resource with frequently asked questions and answers about Covid. -19 vaccines. The answers to the questions come from the CDC and the World Health Organization.
But not all of the rivalries are meant about which vaccine is better. Some compared the three vaccines to the three factions in the game Pokémon Go and the Hogwarts houses from the Harry Potter series.
Those who spoke to NBC News said they predict the rivalry will be the first of many vaccine-related trends TikTok will see in the coming months, adding that they believe it reflects the excitement and eagerness young people are experiencing again. to be normal.
“We all have a lot of hope for the future now that everyone is being vaccinated. That’s why all the conversations, just as stupid as they are, are all very happy that we are at this time,” Sabino said.
