Venezuelan singer José Luis Rodríguez, aka El Puma, received his COVID-19 vaccine on January 2nd and went on Despierta América two days later to share his experience.
In the segment, Rodríguez assured fans that he felt very safe and asked audiences to “rely on God, medicine, and science.” He dismissed conspiracy theories by public figures in Mexico who have claimed that the vaccine will include a chip for mind control, and also decried celebrities and other influential leaders for calling the virus a hoax.
The singer, who turns 78 on January 14th, is in a high-risk category, having had a double lung transplant in 2017 and being over 65. He stated that he had consulted with his general physician and understands that bodies react differently. “I want to tell everyone, of course all bodies are not the same, but I particularly did not feel any change, I did not feel anything. However, I will continue to use the mask when I go out,” he told Karla Martínez and Dr. Juan Rivera on Despierta América’s Sin Rollo segment.
The interview comes just as Los Angeles, which has one of the largest Latino populations in the United States, faces huge challenges because of the strain the coronavirus has had on its healthcare system. Although Latinos have been one of the demographics affected most by the virus, some in the community have said that they do not trust the vaccine, in part because of conspiracy theories that have spread about its effectiveness.
“There are a lot of stories out there, there are many speculations with the famous ‘chip,’” Rodríguez said. “I am a Christian and rely in faith and in the assurance that everything that is going to happen is in the Bible … that that famous seal, of the brand of the beast, 666 , that way it also comes, but it is not this vaccine, believe me, it is not that way that the thing is going.”
El Puma is scheduled to receive the second dose of the vaccine in about four weeks.