Now that our experience of the pandemic is shifting from lockdowns to vaccine targets, its influence on our language is also changing.
For previous examples of pandemic slang, read our post here on how the pandemic continues to influence our language.
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In April 2021, Scott Morrison's government came under fire for taking too long to get vaccine supply organised in Australia. Many commentators adopted the blended term 'vaccine strollout', a pun on the leisurely pace at which the rollout was happening.
Watch the video below for a full explanation:
The Weekly - Australia's Vaccine Strollout
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In August 2021, the Australian government's vaccine campaign used the pun 'arm yourself' to try to encourage people to get the jab. The use of word play here was intended to give the campaign a more light-hearted feel and combat some people's hesitancy towards getting vaccinated.
The imperative phrase also carries connotations of weaponry and fighting a battle against an enemy, implying that the Australian community was at war with the virus.
Vaccine lingo has even unearthed some traditional Australian linguistic biases, seen here in journalist Hugh Riminton's tweet.
He criticised PM Scott Morrison's pronunciation of the initialism for the Astra Zeneca vaccine (AZ), implying that the American pronunciation of the letter 'Z' is not culturally acceptable.
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