Star Trek’s George Takei Encourages Fans To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

Star Trek‘s George Takei is known for being outspoken about various issues, frequently taking to social media to share his views. Takei has been particularly outspoken regarding his belief in medical science and now the Sulu actor is encouraging Star Trek fans to get the COVID-19 vaccine as it becomes available, telling fans that it the ideals of the Star Trek universe require everyone to do their part.

On Twitter on Monday, Takei shared his encouragement in a post writing “If you are a Star Trek fan, but you refuse to get vaccinated, then you are not living up to the ideals of Star Trek. Science, logic, and compassion require us to all do our part.”

Takei’s post about vaccines is timely. Multiple pharmaceutical companies have developed a vaccine for the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 some of them are expected to get through approval by the Food and Drug Administration very soon — including Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine which cleared the FDA’s safety and efficacy confirmation on Tuesday (via Washington Post) — which means they will roll out to the public soon after. In the United Kingdom, mass coronavirus vaccination has begun with 90-year-old Margaret Keenan receiving her vaccine on Tuesday morning, the first person in the world to receive the vaccine outside of a testing setting.

When it comes to safety and COVID-19 prevention more broadly, Takei isn’t alone in using the “geek” world as an appeal, either. Not only is this not the first time that Takei has referenced Star Trek when posting about COVID-19 — the actor shared a humorous meme earlier this year announcing that the Borg are calling off their invasion of Earth to avoid the illness. The city of West Hollywood, California on Tuesday released a PSA reminding people to wear masks that featured footage from Disney+’s popular Star Wars series, The Mandalorian. That PSA reminded residents and others that “Masks are the way”, a play on the now-iconic “This is the way” mantra used among the Mandalorians and popularized in The Mandalorian‘s first season. That video, also shared on social media, utilized footage from the series, including Baby Yoda, before directing people to the city’s coronavirus resources website for additional information.

What do you think of George Takei’s encouragement for Star Trek fans to get the COVID-19 vaccine when available? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for PFLAG