Ice-T Always Gets The Flu Vaccine. Heres Why You Should, Too – Forbes

with getting the flu vaccine all his life in a campaign with Sanofi and Fluzone Getty Images for IEBA

Ice-T has been getting the flu vaccine for many, many years. Why? His reason is simple: I just dont want to get sick. In a recent interview, the star of the long-running Law & Order: SVU talked to me about his early military career, mens health, Black individuals mistrust of doctors and the government, and his partnership with Sanofi including its vaccine, Fluzone. The Season, a suspenseful film to which Ice-T provides the voiceover, aims to educate older adults, particularly those with chronic illnesses, about the harms of influenza.

Ive been taking the flu vaccine for, like, 25 years, so yeah, I wanted to get involved, says the Grammy-winner. I want to promote what Im already doing because I hate getting sick. In the army, he received multiple vaccines. When youre in the infantry going to someplace like Panama, out in the field, the last thing you want to get is sick. So we took everything we could to stay healthy.

Ice-T also proudly points out that in his 24-year tenure on Law & Order, he had never taken a sick day. In fact, he reveals that his boss, Dick Wolf, gave him the greatest compliment: Youre the least pain in my ass! The former reality star also doesnt want his wife or 7-year-old child to get sick. The whole family receives all necessary vaccines.

The global hip-hop star discussed Fluzone, a high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine, and its indication for people 65 years of age and older. Fluzone provides active immunization for prevention of the flu caused by subtypes A and B of the influenza virus. This flu campaign held personal significance for Ice-T: he turned 65 earlier this year and is aware that hes now at higher risk of flu-related complications.

While the flu can be as mild as the common cold, it can also cause severe illness and death. Symptoms can come on suddenly. Fever, chills, sore throat, cough, runny or stuffy nose, headaches, body aches and fatigue are the most common symptoms. Most people recover in a few days, possibly up to two weeks. Others, however, may develop life-threatening complications. Ear and sinus infections are typically on the moderate side. Pneumonia, myocarditis (heart inflammation), rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle injury), encephalitis (brain inflammation) and multi-organ failure are examples of severe complications that can lead to death. The flu can also worsen existing chronic health problems such as asthma and heart disease.

The good news is that the flu vaccine can reduce the risk of getting the flu and its complications including death. This is why Ice-T gets vaccinated. The bad news, however, is that flu vaccination rates in the United States arent that great. During the 2021-22 season, the CDC reported that the overall vaccination rate against the flu was 51%. Thankfully, the most vulnerable grouppeople over 65had a higher vaccination rate (74%). But only 49% of adults ages 18-64 received the flu vaccinedata that concerns public health experts.

Vaccines have become a victim of their own success, commiserates Paul A. Offit, MD, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Pre-vaccine, measles killed 2.6 million people each year. We dont see measles anymore because of vaccines, explains Dr. Offit. Until now. Vaccine-preventable illnesses are making a resurgence including polio, pertussis (whooping cough) and measlesrespiratory infections that can cause severe health problems including paralysis, convulsions and death.

People dont realize the dangerous game we play when we let immunization rates drop, cautions the pediatrician and public health advocate.

An internationally recognized expert in virology and immunology, Dr. Offit advises people with respiratory-type symptoms to get tested for flu, COVID-19 and RSV. If youre sick, then stay home. But if you have to leave the house, then wear a mask. All of these viruses are bad, warns Dr. Offit.

According to the HHS Office of Minority Health, Black Americans are less likely to get the flu or pneumonia vaccines, particularly the most vulnerable demographics: Black individuals >65 and babies aged 19-35 months. Combined with the disproportionate burden of chronic diseases, far too many Black Americans are at high risk of flu-related complications, hospitalizations and premature death. So, I asked Ice-Tthe lyricist of Cop Killer, a song about police brutality against Black peoplewhat role race played, if at all, in his decision to promote the flu vaccine.

None, asserts the songwriter without hesitation. Black people have their feelings about vaccines. We have a history. Black people were used as guinea pigs, you know? I just speak for myself. Ive been taking the flu vaccine for years. I have no problem with it. Ice-T believes that the lack of trust by Black and brown communities for the medical establishment and the government is a major reason for low vaccination rates among my people. Scholars of racial injustice agree.

Health disparities are totally avoidable and only exist because of racism, explains Ayana Jordan, M.D., PhD, Barbara Wilson Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Its a system built on a social constructtotally made upbut has real negative consequences for those who are not a part of the preferential or ideal race." The Covid-19 pandemic unmasked longstanding racial injustice.

Dr. Jordan shares Ice-Ts belief that Black people, in particular, have mistrust of medical professionals because we've been treated so poorly and harmed by the U.S healthcare system. Solutions exist. If we invest in structures that promote better health such as clean water, green spaces, universal healthcare and universal basic income for the most minoritized groups or those most severely impacted by racism, then according to Dr. Jordan, we could begin to build an equitable health system where we all benefit.

In addition to promoting the flu vaccine, Ice-T had another incentive for joining this campaign: encouraging men to see a physician. The rapper jokes about men vs. women. My wife, Coco, talks to her gynecologist if she breaks a nail! Women are so in tune with their bodies. But men, we have to be on a slab before we go see a doctor. The award-winning musician is getting more health-conscious as hes getting older, reflecting with sadness and shock over his 40-year-old male friends dying. I'm like, come on, man, what's happening? At 65, I'm out here doing everything I was doing when I was 25.

Data supports Ice-Ts assertion. According to the CDC, women are 33% more likely than men to see a doctor, even excluding pregnancy-related visits. This statistic prompted the platinum-selling hip-hop artist to ask if this was why women outlive men.

Female life expectancy, indeed, exceeds that of males. Before 1950, excess mortality of baby boys was the largest contributor to the sex gap in lifespan. But more recently, higher mortality among men 60+ tipped the scales towards increased female life expectancy. I offered a different perspective: married men live longer than single mena fact that fascinated the husband of 21 years. In contrast, studies suggest that single women fare better when they live alone, possibly because women who dont live with a husband or children are liberated from traditional roles and expectations. All of these stats riveted the hip-hop star who just wanted to continue living a straight path.

Ice-T wears many hats: singer, songwriter, producer, actor, activist, husband and father. Given his demanding schedule, I asked him about his self-care routine.

I'm on a very low-stress diet. I eat all foods but in moderation, describes the New Jack City star. He also shares his diagnosis of high blood pressure early in his career: It was stress-related so I started to remove certain people from my life. He also doesnt raise his voice, and anybody who works for him needs to be mellow. Staying active is also keynot an easy task while working LONG hours on a hit television show. I do my little workouts night and day.

As an addiction medicine doctor, I was captivated by his substance-free lifestyle which he attributes to being an orphan. Ice-Ts mother died when he was 8; his father died five years later.

I never drank. I never smoked. I never got high. As an orphan, I didnt want to compromise my safety because when you get drunk or high, you're putting your hands in somebody elses. I never had anybody. Ice-T reiterates that these choices worked for him. Everybody's got to find out what works for them.

Ice-T also connects his mental wellness to lifes little indulgences. If I take away my tacos, I won't be happy up here! he says, pointing to his brain.

As a doctor and public health advocate dedicated to serving the underserved, addressing stress-related conditions and combatting misinformation (including anti-vaccine propaganda), I am extraordinarily grateful to Ice-T for using his massive global platform to share his story with vaccines, prevention and overall health. We need FAR more celebrities like Ice-T who follow science and use their influence to save lives.

To see the full interview, visit my YouTube channel.

I'm an internal medicine physician board certified in addiction medicine, speaker, writer, television medical commentator (MSNBC, NBC News, Newsy, etc.) and host of the YouTube show, "Health, Humor and Harmony." I also serve as Medical Director for MOCJ (NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice) Transitional Housing Sites for Housing Works (previously oversaw COVID Isolation and Quarantine Sites) in New York City. In addition, I serve as clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health. Previously, I served as Chief of Addiction Medicine for NYC jails including Rikers Island, overseeing substance use treatment and recovery services at the nation's second-largest jail. Prior to moving to New York, I was a primary care doctor to Boston's homeless population among whom the leading cause of death was drug overdose. I was an attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and faculty at Harvard Medical School. Featured on CNN and The Tamron Hall Show, I am a sought-after, charismatic speaker and media personality who has been published in the Huffington Post, Psychology Today, STAT News and CNN.com, and featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Cooking Light, Top Doctor Magazine and Oprah.com. My mission is to educate and empower the public to make healthy decisions. My diverse public and global experiences with underserved populations, addiction, homeless health, incarceration, evacuation from Hurricane Katrina and medical relief to earthquake victims in Haiti have given me a unique perspective which I enthusiastically share with the public!

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Ice-T Always Gets The Flu Vaccine. Heres Why You Should, Too - Forbes