Pfizer has teamed up with Marvel to create a comic book to urge people to get their Covid boosters and be an “everyday hero”.
The PR stunt comes amid a sluggish fall jab rollout that has seen fewer than one in 20 eligible Americans receive their Omicron-specific shot.
The plot of the new comic revolves around a grandfather waiting for his jab at a clinic who is attacked by Avengers villain Ultron.
Ultron – an insane robot that keeps evolving and coming back stronger – is used to represent Covid, who is constantly mutating into new strains.
Captain America arrives at the scene and is pushed to the brink of defeat before Iron Man – meant to represent Pfizer’s new jab – arrives with a brand new cannon that blasts Ultron into the sky.
The grandfather tells the reader that even superheroes have to constantly “adapt” to fend off Ultron – a clear reference to the updated vaccines.
Pfizer said the comic book was published to encourage people to “protect” themselves by “keeping up to date” with their Covid vaccinations.
It comes as officials are asking Americans over the age of 50 to get their second booster shots.
Only 7.6 million Americans have received the new bivalent vaccine, which so far works better against the dominant Omicron subvariants.
Pfizer has published a Marvel-themed story to explain how its Covid vaccine works. It shows a grandfather and his family receiving a Covid vaccine (below), the Avengers representing the Covid vaccines (middle), Ironman (in red, pictured above) representing the new Covid vaccine, and Ultron (top left) representing Covid’s development
The comic ends with Grandpa smiling after receiving his updated booster vaccine while crowds cheer on the Avengers in the background
At the comic’s release yesterday, Pfizer said, “When Ultron wreaks havoc, the Avengers act as the first line of defense.
“People can help protect themselves by staying up to date with Covid vaccinations.”
The comic can be viewed online at the Marvel website. How much Pfizer paid for the campaign is not clear.
The story begins with a grandfather waiting with his family at a Covid vaccination clinic when a news story flashes on the TV screen that Ultron has returned.
How a new Covid surge in the UK could be a warning for the US
A Covid resurgence in the UK in the autumn has fueled concerns the US could be on course for another wave.
Officials are asking people to get the new Omicron-specific booster as figures show just four percent of eligible Americans took up the offer.
Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been falling in the US for months after the last wave peaked in August.
But a surge in the UK has been attributed to new omicron subvariants feared to be more immune-resistant than their predecessors.
Hospital admissions there rose 23 percent in a month to 7,024 people on wards, while cases also rose 12 percent in a week.
The US Covid situation has mirrored the UK several times in the past – in Alpha wave it followed the surge two weeks later on 14th October and in Omicron wave it also followed about two weeks later on 13th December.
British scientists are particularly concerned about subvariants BA.2.75.2 and BQ1.1, both of which are better at bypassing immunity. Only BA.2.75.2 is known in the US, where cases are now increasing.
The currently dominant Omicron variant – BA.5 – took just six weeks to become the main type in the UK before becoming dominant in the US about two weeks later.
However, new waves are not expected to reach the crisis levels seen earlier in the pandemic as Omicron strains are milder and far more people are now immune thanks to vaccines and past infections.
Explaining how the villain mirrors Covid, the grandfather says he’s “constantly changing and evolving” so the Avengers – who represent Pfizer’s jabs – are “constantly adapting and rescheduling”.
The comic book then shows the Avengers – mirroring each of Pfizer’s shots – battling Ultron.
But they struggle to beat him – because he’s “evolved” – leading to the fight taking place right in front of the vaccination clinic.
But just in time, Ironman – who represents the updated booster shot – arrives and blasts Ultron into space with an “ionized energy cannon”.
Ironman then comes to the clinic and tells the grandfather that he “looks good” and that retirement is fine with him.
When Grandpa asks if the Avengers are retiring, Ironman says, “We’re just getting started.”
After the fight, the grandfather is then called for his Covid vaccine and is later shown smiling with a patch on his left arm indicating he has received the vaccine.
At the end we see builders, nurses, window cleaners, students and a grandmother with the slogan: “Everyday heroes don’t wear capes!
“But they’re wearing a small bandage on their upper arm after getting their latest Covid shot – because everyday heroes are worried about their health.”
America is lagging behind most other Western countries in rolling out the Covid vaccine, with just 67 percent of people showing up for their first two doses.
It began rolling out updated booster shots in September that can protect against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
Anyone over the age of 12 who has received at least the first two doses of the Covid vaccine are eligible.
However, uptake has been sluggish as just 7.6 million of the 215 million eligible claimants had received the jab more than a month since launch.
Controversy was sparked over the Covid vaccine campaign when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) extended eligibility to children as young as six months old.
Many experts warned of the move at the time, saying children were at very low risk from the virus and warning it could interfere with other vaccines they need, such as against polio or measles.
There is also now a sense that the Covid pandemic is over, after President Joe Biden declared on television last month that it was over.
He has since tried to back off on his words, but many still feel Covid is no longer a threat.
The grandpa is shown waiting with his family at a clinic for his Covid vaccine when a news flash warns of Ultron – or Omicron –
Ultron fights with the Avengers representing Pfizer’s Covid vaccines. They initially struggle to defeat him
But then Iron Man returns with an ion cannon and blasts Ultron back into space. The cannon reflects the updated bivalent booster jab
These graphs show the number of updated Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in vaccination clinics (right) and the number given to people’s arms (left).
The US launches a flu and Covid booster program every year in hopes of easing the pressure on hospitals during the winter months.
It comes after a Covid resurgence in the UK in the autumn began stoking concerns the US could be on course for another wave.
Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been falling in America for months after the last wave peaked in August.
But a surge in the UK has been attributed to new omicron subvariants feared to be more immune-resistant than their predecessors.
Hospital admissions there rose 23 percent in a month to 7,024 people on wards, while cases also rose 12 percent in a week.
The US Covid situation has mirrored the UK several times in the past – in Alpha wave it followed the surge two weeks later on 14th October and in Omicron wave it also followed about two weeks later on 13th December.
British scientists are particularly concerned about subvariants BA.2.75.2 and BQ1.1, both of which are better at bypassing immunity. Only BA.2.75.2 is known in the US, where cases are now increasing.
The currently dominant Omicron variant – BA.5 – took just six weeks to become the main type in the UK before becoming dominant in the US about two weeks later.
dr Scott Roberts, an infectious disease expert at Yale University, warned about the link to Covid cases across the pond to : “As a general pattern, we’ve seen the US lag behind the UK by two to three weeks.
“Whenever cases pop up in the UK it definitely worries me and I wouldn’t be surprised if the US followed a similar pattern.
“This has happened in several previous waves. [For example]in the alpha and delta waves we saw a surge in the UK and many regions of Europe just before in the United States.’
Official data shows that Alpha sent cases around October 1st in the UK, and in the US they followed two weeks later, on October 14th.
The same was true of the Omicron wave, when cases in the UK skyrocketed from late November, followed by the US two weeks later.
With Delta, the US surge began around July 8, about four weeks after a similar surge began in the UK.