LAFAYETTE, La. — He 'shuffled' his way into our lives, and now he's using his voice to speak out about vaccinations.
We sat down with Lafayette's own Cupid to hear how his personal experience has sparked his concern for those with underlying conditions.
But why use his celebrity to address this?
"'Cause I care. I care about people with conditions. I care about people like my daddy," he said.
Just over a week after he was vaccinated, Cupid's father ended up in the emergency room twice with severe chest pains.
"It was his heart," Cupid added.
The singer songwriter says his father hadn't had any issues with his heart since he had stints put in 15 years ago. Cupid, who is scheduled for his second shot next week, explains he isn't against vaccinations.
"I'm pro-vaccine if you want to take it but we also need to be pro-information," he explained. "The medical field needs to do a better job of better educating people about possibilities."
"They are studying any type of severe or significant response like the one you are talking about and looking to make sure there is no link to the vaccine and that's ongoing."
Dr. Tina Stefanski with the Louisiana Department of Public Health says in all of the thousands of clinical trials and studies that have been done, people with pre-existing conditions, including heart disease, mostly only feel the most common side effects - fever, body aches, headaches, soreness of the arm - for up to three days after injection.
"People with underlying health problems shouldn't have any more or any different type of side effects," explained Dr. Stefanski. "If you are sitting at home, certainly, if you develop something like chest pain or you are confused, call 911 or go to the ER."
"The last page of the waiver basically says if anything happens, it's on you. When they say that and my dad goes to the hospital, I'm stuck," Cupid added. "The minute you feel any type of reaction, consult your doctor immediately. Don't waste time assuming you will be okay and 2-3 days later you are in the hospital. Be on top of it."
Dr. Stefanski says if you have any questions about the vaccines, she and her team are ready to answer them. You can call the Department of Health office in Lafayette from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 262-5311.
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