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Bubba Wallace Addresses COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy As 23XI Racing Team Get Dose

As North Carolina opens COVID-19 vaccine registration to the public, NASCAR's Bubba Wallace talks about vaccine hesitancy as he and his team get their doses.

Bubba Wallace continues to step up as a leader on and off the racetrack, this time tackling COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy. 

The NASCAR driver and roughly 50 of his 23XI Racing teammates, as well as their immediate family members, received their first doses of the vaccine earlier on Tuesday at their shop. 

Originally, the crew was scheduled to get the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine; however, the U.S. FDA recommended the immediate halt of using the company's vaccine after it was discovered that six women developed a rare blood clot disorder within two weeks of receiving the shot.  

Instead, they received the Pfizer vaccine, Novant Health told CNN. The change and pause for J&J did not worry Wallace. 

“Seeing that they are taking a pause and doing more research and figuring out what other avenues they need to go down to make this perfect," Wallace said to CNN, "just gives you reinsurance."

Watson and 23XI Racing are one of the first Cup Series teams to speak publicly about the vaccination process after North Carolina opened up the registration to those 16 years or older on April 7. Prior to that, multiple raceways, like Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, opened their tracks as mass vaccination sites. 

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty released a public service announcement with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services after receiving his COVID-19 vaccinate in March. 

“I talked to my doctor, and he highly recommended that I go ahead and get a shot,” Petty, 83, said. “It doesn’t only help me; it helps my family and all of the people I associate with. You are not only helping yourself; you are helping your neighbors.”

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