“Forget ridiculous conspiracy videos”: Ricky Martin asks his followers to get vaccinated

(CNN Spanish) – Ricky Martin continues his fight to encourage his followers to get vaccinated against covid-19. The Puerto Rican singer published this Tuesday in the stories from his Instagram account an explanation of why he was vaccinated and why he cares that you do it too.

“I got vaccinated because I could never live with myself if I get infected and then pass it on to someone who dies,” said the singer. “Even someone who ended up in the hospital. I did it for the people I had never met before, for my community,” he added.

The singer made these comments after sharing in a story above a CNN post about 5 reasons why not getting vaccinated is not an option.

To this, Martin said that it is his problem and asked his followers to get vaccinated.

“Don’t be so self-centered, forget about the ridiculous conspiracy videos you see on YouTube. It’s not about you, it’s about everyone else. Get vaccinated NOW.”

Ricky Martin’s other efforts to incentivize vaccination

This is not the first time that the interpreter has spoken out against disinformation campaigns regarding covid-19 vaccines.

In April, during the Latin American Music Awards, which aired on Telemundo, the singer had a conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci about the importance of the covid-19 vaccine.

Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases of the United States and from the beginning of the pandemic he became one of the leading voices in everything related to the fight against the coronavirus.

In the conversation, Ricky Martin asks Fauci why he thinks the Latino community should be vaccinated and if the antigen is safe.

The video, which was later shared by Telemundo through a tweet, accumulates more than 1.7 million views.

In March, Martin shared a tweet from his foundation showing vaccination efforts at the Tau Center in Puerto Rico. He himself is part of the RM Foundation.

The impact of the coronavirus on the Hispanic community in the United States

Researchers have warned that the Hispanic community in the United States, along with the black community, is among the hardest hit by the pandemic. In addition, Hispanics face challenges in obtaining the vaccine: either because of the language or even the flexibility of schedules to receive the antigen.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, the Hispanics / Latinos represent 28.6% of coronavirus cases in the country.

With regard to deaths, this same group represents 18.6%.

According to Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable, director of the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities, Latinos are the group that has been most affected by the coronavirus.

Celebrities and vaccination campaigns

It is not unusual to see celebrities encourage vaccination campaigns. We have seen Dolly Parton receive the first dose of the Moderna vaccine, which she helped fund by donating $ 1,000,000.

We also saw the video of Mariah Carey getting vaccinated against the virus and recently, the White House enlisted the help of teenage superstar Olivia Rodrigo to push vaccination among youth and adolescents in the United States.

In the past, the United States conducted vaccination campaigns with stars like Elvis Presley, who in 1956 was vaccinated against live polio during the most important television program in the United States in those years, the Ed Sullivan Show.