The entertainment industry has been practically dead when it comes to in-person experiences since last year. President Joe Biden has advocated the Covid-19 vaccination. Prince Harry urged for more vaccination availability, and Jennifer Lopez brought her fully-vaccinated mom onstage in one of the largest concert gatherings in Southern California since the pandemic hit over a year ago. The program by Global Citizen titled “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World”, was a gathering of politicians and celebrities to speak on vaccine equality at SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California.
This is a taped fundraiser/concert that will air May 8 on ABC, iHeartMedia radio broadcasts, YouTube, and CBS. The concert included performances by stars, such as J. Lo, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J. Balvin, and H.E.R. Additionally, it featured guest celebrity speakers from David Letterman, Ben Affleck, and Chrissy Teigen to name a few. The venue made sure to have safety measures in place to keep everyone secure with the audience being fully vaccinated and media and production staff showing a negative Covid test before entering the venue. Biden remarked, “The vaccines are safe. I promise you. They work.” Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden appeared in a PSA called “We Can Do This” to help boost vaccine confidence for the public.
Biden went on to say that he’s working with leaders across the globe to help boost production on the vaccine and ensure every country has the vaccines they need. He wants to make sure that this initiative is pushed at its peak and doesn’t want to miss the moment. This event was made to raise awareness and have more wide-range distribution of the coronavirus vaccine. Global Citizen reported that they exceeded their goal with $53.8 million in philanthropic and corporate commitments helped them get nearly 10.3 million doses.
Prince Harry knows the severity of the situation. He realizes how those in the poorest countries are the most vulnerable. He stands with India, which is experiencing an epic second wave of the virus. The Duke of Sussex says that the vaccine must be available to everyone. He and his wife are leading the effort to raise money for the vaccine-sharing program COVAX, which hopes to gain $19 billion to pay for the vaccines for medical workers. Furthermore, he said each corner of the globe needs to get a handle on this virus because it doesn’t care about borders.
Selena Gomez praised the essential and frontline workers because they were brave for working because many had to stay home. The essential and frontline workers didn’t have a choice. This felt like a normal concert for many and brought back a sense of hope and fun they hadn’t experienced in over a year.