Coronavirus: Queen Latifah receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey-born Queen Latifah received her first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday in an effort to encourage members of the public to get the shot.

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According to News 12 New Jersey and NJ Advance Media, the 50-year-old actress and rapper, whose real name is Dana Elaine Owens, was vaccinated at the Essex County College gymnasium in Newark, her hometown.

“You hear a lot of things out there in the media, and they are very concerning and very frightening and very scary,” the “Equalizer” star said Tuesday evening, according to NJ Advance Media. “But being in a hospital on a ventilator is much more frightening than what’s going to happen getting a shot in the arm that is here to prepare our bodies to fight this thing.”

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka hopes vaccine skeptics will have a change of heart after watching Latifah get the vaccine, NJ Advance Media reported.

“They feel like if she’s gonna do it, it gives people the strength to get up and do it themselves,” the told the news outlet.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 62.4 million people in the United States had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Wednesday morning. About 2.7 million doses have been administered in New Jersey, the state’s Department of Health reported Wednesday afternoon.

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