John Oliver knows he won't convince your vaccine-hesitant loved ones to get inoculated, wants to help you try

John Oliver on COVID-19 vaccines
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Last Week Tonight)

The COVID-19 vaccines are "the end result of the world's greatest scientists working around the clock to save countless lives, immortalized in a card we'll all definitely lose in a month," John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight. The terrifying outbreak in India is another reminder that this pandemic isn't over, "and obviously the world should be doing everything it can to help India right now, but our best way out of this mess long-term is clearly vaccines."

The good news for America is there's a lot of vaccine available and more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at least one dose, Oliver said. The bad news is it takes at least 70 percent vaccination to reach herd immunity and "a worrying amount of people are holding off on getting the free COVID vaccine," even though "these vaccines could save not just your life but the lives of people around you." He explained to a fictional Baltimore resident named Mike why he should ignore Joe Rogan and go get vaccinated, now. "Tonight let's talk about the COVID vaccines," he said: "Why people are hesitant, what their worries are, and how they might be reassured."

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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.