Analysis | Nicki Minaj and the limits of the influence of celebrities on covid-19 messages

(CNN) – Did you see Nicki Minaj’s tweets about why she won’t be vaccinated against COVID-19? Let’s talk about them.

On Monday, Minaj said her cousin in Trinidad, where the superstar is from, “will not get vaccinated because his friend put it on and became impotent. His testicles swelled up.”

There is no link between COVID-19 vaccines and infertility, such as they explained the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, in August.

This unfounded fear is not new told CNN vaccine expert and pediatrician Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine, earlier this year.

“My God, people have been saying this about all vaccines for as long as I can remember,” said Maldonado, who also chairs the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “There is no evidence that this vaccine affects development or fertility.”

Minaj also suggested that she is not vaccinated, saying that she is waiting until she feels she “has done enough research.”

CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, debunked the rapper’s claim on “New Day”.

“The Journal of the Medical Association specifically looked at fertility issues and found no fertility issues, “he said.” I appreciate you wanting to do the research. [La información] Is there. I wish his cousin’s friend the best, but that is not related to the vaccine. “

The limits of celebrity influence

It can be easy somehow worry, wonder: Could Minaj’s Tweets Make A Serious Problem Worse? After all, nationwide and across all demographics, doubts about vaccines and total rejection of vaccines remain a problem.

However, that line of thinking feels a bit hasty and perhaps even misinterprets the broader dynamics of celebrity influence on politics.

Minaj isn’t the only celebrity whose dominance has come under scrutiny, and she certainly won’t be the last.

According to Mark Harvey, author of the 2018 book, “Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion and Issue-Based Advocacy“There are generally two types of celebrity power:” the ability to ‘highlight’ issues in the media and to persuade audiences. “

Fundamentally, celebrities are not persuasive all the time on all subjects. Their influence is complicated by a variety of factors, including their experience, their affiliations with advocacy groups, and their connection to the issue (think Ellen DeGeneres or Billy Porter on LGBTQ rights).

But Harvey argues that what we are seeing with the coronavirus pandemic, and specifically with the covid-19 vaccines, is completely different.

“The question is what happens when a celebrity is trying to persuade on a controversial issue, on something that people are so divided that they are not going to change their minds, on issues like gun control and abortion? I think we are. having a moment like that, “Harvey told CNN, adding that the cultural divide is much greater today than it was in the 1950s, when Elvis Presley was able to get a polio shot on” The Ed Sullivan Show “and convince skeptical teens to get vaccinated.

“Today, Nicki Minaj says something about certain topics, and he’s probably not going to move the needle at all,” Harvey said. “Basically, people on the right are going to say, ‘Look, Nicki Minaj. She’s great.’ And people on the left can say, ‘She’s a bad influence.’ And that’s probably the end.”

This is not to suggest that people are wrong for being irritated by Minaj’s tweets. By not fully supporting the trove of data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of covid-19 vaccines, the rapper and singer may have helped muddy the waters at a time when clarity is urgent.

The fight against covid-19 in the US

Blacks and Latinos have become disproportionately more ill and hospitalized from COVID-19 in the United States, and new research from Johns Hopkins University reveals that, in most states, both groups account for a smaller proportion of vaccinations than of cases.

As COVID-19 increasingly becomes the pandemic of the unvaccinated, community leaders and health advocates are calling on Americans to get vaccinated to prevent further devastation in already vulnerable populations. They launched campaignsThey planned and promoted more vaccine clinics and even partnered with hair salons and barber shops in hopes of reaching more people who remain skeptical.

Some leaders and doctors say they are fighting to dispel myths and misinformation about the vaccine that continues to spread in the black community.

Dr. Jayne Morgan, executive director of the Covid Task Force at Piedmont Healthcare Corporation in Atlanta, said Minaj was “scientifically irresponsible” in her tweets and that it would be more productive for Minaj to share information from doctors.

“[Sus comentarios] they make our job that much more difficult if we have to keep fighting misinformation, “Morgan told CNN.

Of course, the problem is much bigger than Minaj. Joe rogan, Rob schneider, Chet hanks: Many celebrities have criticized covid-19 vaccines or have engaged in wild conspiracy theories.

The work continues.

CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis contributed to this report.