'I'm not throwing away my shot': Doctors use 'Hamilton' inspiration to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations
A group of Northern California doctors derived inspiration from Broadway and got creative to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
A group called the Vax’n 8, which consists of seven very talented doctors, reworked "My Shot" from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s wildly popular "Hamilton" broadway show to address misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.
A music video published to YouTube on March 10 by the Vax’n 8, cheekily titled "I’m Not Throwing Away My Shot," pointed to the "scientific and political issues currently affecting the decision to receive the vaccine against the virus."
![Vaxn 8](https://images.foxtv.com/static.ktvu.com/www.ktvu.com/content/uploads/2021/03/932/524/Vaxn-8-.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Freeze frame of Vax’n 8’s YouTube video ‘I’m Not Throwing Away My Shot.’
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"While we completely respect everyone’s freedom of choice, we as a group of physicians support and encourage everyone who can to receive a vaccine based on our understanding of both the science behind its safety and the global imperative to bring population immunity to the point where the pandemic can finally come to an end," according to the group’s YouTube video description.
The music video has garnered over 25,000 views on YouTube as of March 16.
Health experts have long advocated for everyone to be vaccinated, citing scientific evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines are proven to protect against severe virus symptoms as well as avoiding hospitalization.
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Social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook have thrown their support behind health experts, working to take down false information about the COVID-19 vaccine as well as helping people find out when and where they can get their shot.
Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his inability to understand the skepticism surrounding the vaccine on March 14.
"What is the problem here? This is a vaccine that is going to be lifesaving for millions of people," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He added: "I mean, I just can’t comprehend what the reason for that is when you have a vaccine that’s 94-95% effective and it is very safe. I just don’t get it."
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 37.4 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, representing more than 11% of the total population in the U.S.
The coronavirus is blamed for over 530,000 deaths in the United States. Deaths and newly confirmed infections per day have tumbled over the past two months. But cases are running at a still-troubling average of about 55,000 a day.
The Associated Press and Storyful contributed to this report.