SL County hires actor for campaign to encourage residents to get shots

The Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD) has unveiled a new public awareness radio campaign featuring “Sex and the City” actor Mario Cantone in a series of spots extolling the virtues of getting COVID vaccinations.

But for Cantone — best known as Charlotte’s friend Anthony in the long-running HBO series and movies and recently confirmed as a returning cast member in the show’s “And Just Like That” reboot — it’s not quite that basic. The actor imprints his trademark snark and tone on messages covering COVID vaccine myths regarding fertility, previous immunity and its purportedly “rushed” development process, among other misperceptions.

“Some people believe that COVID isn’t serious and can’t hurt them,” Cantone says in one of the spots, which began running on Salt Lake City radio stations earlier this month. “But 3.4 million people would disagree, but they can’t because they’re dead.”

“People think they’re immune to COVID because they already had it,” he says in another of the 30-second PSA-style spots. “Really? You immune from a car accident because you wore a seatbelt once?”

In each of the spots, which have also been adapted to Spanish, Cantone’s banter leads back around to encouragement about getting the shots and where to go for more information — the website ThisIsOurShot.com.“We’re trying to overcome people’s disbeliefs, myths and hesitancy,” said Dr. Audrey Stevenson, director of family health for SLCoHD. “We needed to do something to break through the clutter and make people take notice.”