Jerry Falwell Jr. got the COVID-19 vaccine, would like you to, also

Jerry Falwell Jr.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jerry Falwell Jr., the former head of Virginia's Liberty University and among the most prominent white evangelical Christian supporters of former President Donald Trump, got his first shot of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, and like many of the newly inoculated, he posted a vaccine selfie to Instagram. He urged his followers to get vaccinated as well, portraying it as a way to keep Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) from enacting "mindless restrictions."

The vaccine skepticism among white evangelicals "doesn't have anything to do with religious beliefs," Moore told PBS NewsHour on Thursday. "It's instead about the mistrust and distrust that's evident in American society right now," combined with "the fact that we have been isolated from one another in lots of ways for over a year," allowing misinformation to spread. "And that's why lots of us are doing what we can to say, vaccination is not only something that's acceptable for Christians," he said, "it's something we ought to thank God that we have the technology for."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Many evangelicals hesitant now, "I think, will eventually come around," especially if everyone focuses on "what's possible if we get vaccinated in large numbers," Moore said. "We want to be able to get as close back to normal as we can. And that's probably especially true for people who are religious communities, because we believe we ought to be congregated together."

And if that isn't persuasive, Thursday's Late Show had a similar message, wrapped in a Beach Boys homage. Peter Weber

Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.