Selena Gomez is set to host a concert pushing for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution — and seeking to "reunite the world."
Global Citizen announced on Tuesday that Gomez will host "Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World," which will air on multiple networks next month and "aims to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide," as well as call on "world leaders to prioritize the equitable distribution" of COVID-19 vaccines around the world.
The concert will be pre-taped and take place at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, and it will feature performances from Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and H.E.R.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
"This is a historic moment to encourage people around the world to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, call on world leaders to share vaccine doses equitably and to bring people together for a night of music in a way that hasn't felt possible in the past year," Gomez said.
Global Citizen said it will be campaigning to support the vaccine-sharing program COVAX to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines in low-income countries. It's also calling for donations from philanthropists and corporations to help vaccinate 27 million health care workers in poor countries and for the investment of $22 billion for getting two billion vaccine doses to these countries.
Global Citizen previously organized a "One World: Together at Home" concert near the start of the pandemic in April 2020, which was watched by over 20 million people in the U.S. and raised more than $120 million for COVID-19 relief. "Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World" is set to air on ABC, CBS, Fox, YouTube, and iHeartMedia stations on May 8.
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
