Will Tyler Perry’s Televised COVID-19 Vaccine Persuade You To Get One Too?

Tyler Perry is hoping to help the Black community make an informed decision regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. But, will receiving his second vaccination on television sway viewers?

Perry put it all on display. In conjunction with a special airing on BET, the media mogul sat-down and got his second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine while being televised. But, before doing so, he also sat down with the experts and questioned them about the safety, efficacy, and risks of the shot.

In an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, Perry recounted the conversation he had with those experts and why he finally decided to get the vaccine.

“Yea, I was skeptical. If you look at our history in this country, the Tuskegee experiment, Henrietta Lacks, it raises flags for us as African American people. So I understand why there’s a healthy skepticism about the vaccine,” Perry told Gayle King. “But I think my top question was understanding mRNA technology and Dr. Kimberly Manning and Dr. Del Rio did an amazing job at explaining that, at how this new technology has helped to come up with the vaccine so quickly because when I heard things like warp speed I was really concerned … I didn’t really feel like I could trust it. But once I got all of the information, found out the researchers, I was very, very happy.”

Tyler was also very cautious to say he was doing this special in order to persuade people into getting the vaccine — for him it’s about access to the information.

“I’ve got people who love what I do and kind of follow me, so I think once they get the information it’ll help them. What I told them is that I’m not taking this vaccine because I want you to take it, I want to give you the information so you can make your own choices. So, I think that’s what it’s about, education and information.”

You can see Perry’s full interview with King below, and see the vaccine special on BET and BET Her Thursday night.