Mark Ruffalo Just Shared a Throwback Shirtless Thirst Trap

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo has saved the planet a couple of times. As a real life activist, he's trying to do the same, using his platform to advocate for ecological causes. And now, he's doing his part to try to encourage as many young people as possible to get vaccinated against Covid—by sharing a shirtless photo of his younger self on Instagram.

"I know this young person (mangoes, mullet, and all) would've gotten vaccinated, but we’ve got to get other young people protected as well," he wrote in the caption. "Who else is willing to help?" He then directed fans to a link in his bio for more information on how to get the vaccine.

Ruffalo was taking his cue from President Joe Biden, who posted a throwback pic of his own earlier in the week with the same caption (albeit without the mangoes and mullet addendum), as part of his ongoing efforts to increase vaccine uptake among younger members of the population. It was a smart social media play, given the thirst-related traction that this specific photo of Young Joe Biden has already previously gained online. The savvy strategy continued this week, when Biden and his team hosted a White House press conference with pop star of the moment Olivia Rodrigo, who also urged her young fans to get vaccinated.

While vaccine hesitancy is still a problem in the United States, medical professionals have found that individuals who have had both doses of the Covid caccine have a better chance of being protected against the Delta variant, which is up to 60 percent more transmissible and can lead to more severe illness.

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