Got the jab, bought the T-shirt: ‘vaxinistas’ and the rise of pandemic merchandise

Like fans after a gig, people are broadcasting being vaccinated with branded merchandise, while vintage pharma-merch' is going for high prices on eBay

This summer's trend is not a dish or a dress, but a clean bill of health posted on social media. There's even a word for it: a vaxinista" - a combination of fashionista" and vaccine" - is someone who has not only had both jabs, but wants to broadcast it via vaccine selfies, cards and even merchandise.

This interest in pharmaceutical merch has now reached a strange new frontier: used pharma memorabilia. On eBay, old mementoes branded with Pfizer and AstraZeneca logos are selling for tens and hundreds of pounds. AstraZeneca paperweights and ballpoint pens are going for 150 and 50 respectively. Bids for a Pfizer lab coat begin at 106, a pre-loved" Pfizer denim shirt at 100 and a Disneyland Pfizer conference T-shirt at 144. Meanwhile, newspapers from the day the vaccine was announced are selling for more than 40.