One Injection (Flu Shot Anthem)

One Injection to Rule Them All

One Flu Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

There’s only one thing I love more than science-based medical gangsta rap—and that’s a good old-fashioned Boy Band! So how could I resist when the Human Resources team at Zappos.com approached me about making a video PSA promoting their free flu shot clinic? I mean, science + music + shoes = What?? I was in feet-first with both velcro-strapped Keds, yo!

Especially when I realized that there was this adorable new Boy Band called One Direction, with a syrupy pop ditty called What Makes You Beautiful. A perfect parody storm!

One Mission

So I hooked up with the Zappos AV crew and we got to work. Now these guys do not mess around—it was fantastic to shoot at Zappos headquarters with such an amazing and energetic bunch of folks. Even if I got no free shoes. Zero. Not even flip-flops. What??

Where was I? Oh yeah! So working with Patrick Warren, Darren Flores, and ‘Gonzo’ from Zappos was a hoot. You can see all of ’em in the video, including Zappos’ head of charity stuff Stevie Bautista as the hottest nurse EVER. We did a version of the video for the All Hands meeting and I got to speak to 1700 employees and visitors about the importance of flu vaccinations at the amazing Smith Center in Downtown Las Vegas. That’s right folks: ZDoggMD is a bigger Vegas star than Celine! (Note: I’m referring to Celine Witherspoon, from the Zappos mail room. Not that other ‘Celine’.)

One Injection: The Flu Shot

So we’re hoping that this video raises awareness about the importance of our seasonal influenza vaccination. Myths about flu shot, dispelled:

• Flu Shot Causes Flu:  nope. Inactivated viral fragments in the vaccine don’t cause the flu. The virus is deader than Tupac, yo. You may get some localized soreness and low grade fever/muscle aches from the immune response to the vaccine (a good thing), but that ain’t flu. Like any vaccine, there are rare severe side effects, but the benefits of mass vaccination outweigh these by far.
• Flu Shot Don’t Work: untrue. Flu shot is an effective way to produce complete or partial immunity to the covered influenza strains. Obviously, no vaccine is 100% effective, but even a partially effective vaccine has huge benefits when we’re talking about something nasty that can be prevented, like the flu.
• I Don’t Get Sick, So I Ain’t Gettin’ the Shot: OK, and I bet your poo don’t stink either, smarty pants! Up to 50% of people with documented influenza viral infection have no symptoms. Yet they can in theory spread the virus to our most vulnerable, like little kids and the elderly. So vaccinate yourself, because it’s about Community Immunity!