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Can You Separate the (Anti-Vaccine)Artist From The Art?

From an NFL All-Star to a Disney Princess, we in public health are finding ourselves cheering for anti-vaxxers, and that’s okay.

René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
GEN
Published in
5 min readJan 5, 2022

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Many actors have played Superman in my lifetime. From Christopher Reeve to Tyler Hoechlin, the Man of Steel has had many different faces. While Smallville’s Tom Welling is my Superman, I also grew up watching Dean Cain be the titular Clark Kent from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I kind of liked the guy for what he did off the screen, too. That is, until he decided to let his far-right ideas fly on social media and said some things that I find very unsavory, though he denies being an alt-right weirdo.

I still watch Lois & Clark when it shows up on my television. I still like the show, and I like the portrayal of Superman that Cain brought to the small screen. And, just like when I have to put aside his support of racist politicians, his membership on the board of a corporation that aims to “cancel” any discussion on firearm legislation, and his whining about Captain America being “woke,” I now find myself putting aside the anti-vaccine shenanigans of other celebrities because, well… I’ll explain.

First, some examples.

Exhibit A: The Disney…

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René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
GEN
Writer for

DrPH in Epidemiology. Public Health Instructor. Father. Husband. "All around great guy." https://linktr.ee/rene.najera