Corona vaccination: No, you will not become a zombie

Will Smith with Zombie in "I am Legend"

Photo: ddp images

In the film "I am Legend" Will Smith plays the very lonely virologist Robert Neville.

His situation is precarious: researchers have tried to genetically modify measles viruses for cancer therapy - and in passing eliminated over five billion people.

Only a small fraction of the world's population survived infection with a mutated virus and turned into rabid zombies.

A creepy Hollywood fiction, which, however, is perceived as real by some in times of the pandemic.

Better to quit than vaccination

Last week the New York Times reported that the owner of an eyewear shop in the Bronx had problems convincing his employees of the need for a Covid-19 vaccination.

He courted them for months, promised them a cash bonus and introduced compulsory testing.

Nevertheless, a small part of the workforce would have refused.

A 31-year-old employee said she would rather quit than get vaccinated.

Some employees cited a general distrust of the government, others cited conspiracy theories, suspecting that the vaccines contained microchips that could be used to track them.

Others claimed that the vaccination would make them sterile - for which there is no scientific evidence.

"Oh.

My.

God."

Finally, one employee feared that the vaccination would turn her into a zombie - similar to the film "I am Legend".

This (incorrect) assumption was eagerly absorbed in social media, processed into memes, shared thousands of times and commented seriously.

One of the film's scriptwriters, Akiva Goldsman, vented his displeasure via Twitter: “Oh.

My.

God, ”he wrote.

“It's a movie.

I made that up.

It is.

Not.

Real."

The 59-year-old Goldsman wrote the script together with colleagues, based on a novel by the author Richard Metheson from 1954.

In New York City, around 66 percent of adults are vaccinated against the coronavirus - with the regional differences that can also be observed in this country.

According to the New York Times, the rate in the Bronx is 58 percent and in wealthy Manhattan 75 percent.

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