Days after Sacha Baron Cohen confirmed the end of “Borat”, it appears that the British comedian found lucrative work elsewhere – selling COVID-19 vaccines to celebrities.
In a sketch during Thursday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Cohen was interrupted by what appeared to be a burning cell phone while answering the question, “Was it fun to play Borat?”
After his serious statement about Borat’s political impact, Cohen excuses himself to answer the phone – with a number he seems to recognize. He greets the caller, called Bono.
“Yes, I have AstraZeneca; I have a little bit of Pfizer. What do you want? “He asks the caller as he rummages through a mini refrigerator at the bottom, full of oat milk and what appears to be airtight vaccines.” Yes, Venmo is fine, “he concludes the call.
“Did I hear you correctly? Was it Bono? “Kimmel asks, to which Cohen clarifies:” A different Bono: Chaz “.
The part continues to include calls from “Tom Cruise” – initially mistaken for Tom Hanks and Tom Holland – Kanye West and Wesley Snipes.
“I don’t want to snoop, but are you selling vaccines?” the dawn host asks.
“Stay out of this, Kimmel,” Cohen replies. “Take care of that beautiful face of yours. There is no vaccine for broken legs. “
Later, actress Isla Fisher, Cohen’s wife, comes on the scene looking particularly disheveled – exhausted, you might say – with a wad of money. “Honey, honey, Ruffalo is out there. Here’s the money, ”she says, then asks for“ two Pfizers, one Moderna and one Oatly ”for“ Mark Ruffalo ”.
Realizing his sloppy behavior, Cohen asks Fisher, “Have you been drinking any vaccines?”
After pressing a little, she confesses with a heavy sigh: “I already drank 15”.
Kimmel later suggested that the critically acclaimed satirist should focus more on the Oscars than on selling vaccines.
“It is It is my Oscar campaign, ”Cohen barks. “Jimmy, [I’ll] put it this way: no foreign Hollywood newspaper will receive the COVID-19 anytime soon. “
True to the roots of Cohen’s satire, the party actually touches on a very real issue amid the launch of the coronavirus vaccine: vaccine elitism. As several pharmaceutical brands continue to release their version of the COVID-19 antidote, a certain advantage has emerged that is dangerously undermining efforts to vaccinate all Americans.
In January, a sketch by British comedian Josh Berry it astutely captures the worrying mentality when framing vaccines as if it were comparing top universities.
“What vaccine did you get?” Berry begins, speaking to another imaginary. “Oh that’s great. Me? Oxford. Yes, everyone in my family did, so I kind of thought, ‘Why not me?’ you know? I just didn’t want to settle for Pfizer’s – no offense. ”
But the constant selection of each vaccine – where it was developed, who financed it or which demographic groups will benefit the most – may run the risk of spreading misinformation, warn doctors.
The vaccine’s effectiveness between brands fell on a spectrum with success rates ranging from 72% (Johnson & Johnson) to about 95% (Pfizer and Moderna), according to studies that, to a large extent, may depend on the patient’s age , health status and several other factors. Despite the variety, doctors emphasized that any vaccine is considerably better than none.
NYU Langone Health epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer L. Lighter suggested that the brand “doesn’t matter” in an interview on the university’s news website, published on Thursday.
“Just take it, as soon as you become eligible,” she asked. “Vaccines are proven to prevent serious diseases, and that is our goal.”
Lighter explained that the goal of a vaccine is not necessarily to prevent people from getting sick, but to strengthen their immunity just enough to keep them out of the hospital. “If someone catches a mild infection, even after vaccination, it is not a cause for concern,” she said. “What we need is for people to stay out of the hospital and reduce the risk of death.”
She also reiterated that “none of the trial participants who received [a] vaccine died of COVID-19. “
“There is no clinically significant difference between these vaccines,” said Dr. Lighter. “None. So, please don’t hesitate to get vaccinated.”