A Martinez’s Heartfelt Plea To Steve Burton, Others To Get Vaccinated

Steve Burton infamously was taken off General Hospital recently for refusing to get vaccinated, and one of his former co-stars is hoping to persuade his friend to reconsider.

A Martinez Reaches Out To Steve Burton

A Martinez, who played Roy DiLucca on GH, and is also known around daytime circles for playing Cruz Castillo on Santa Barbara, Ray on One Life to Live, and Eduardo Hernandez on Days of our Lives among other roles, responded to a recent Burton post with a powerful reply.

On Instagram, Burton posted some words that while not directly tied to vaccinations, made it clear that he was exercising his rights to do what he thinks is best.

“You have one life live it. You have one body, exercise it. You have one mind, control it. You have one soul, feed it,” the post read. “Self discipline in these areas is self love. Every day is a new day to make a change. Don’t settle.. you have one life, make the most of it.”

While reactions were mixed with support from some and others reacting negatively to his refusal to get vaccinated, Martinez weighed in with his thoughts on the matter.

“It’s possible to cast oneself as a Man of Principle — an implicitly attractive role — while still doing immeasurable harm,” he responded. “Immeasurable because — though we know that long Covid and death are much more prevalent among the sea of non-vaccinated — no one can say for sure who exactly caused the next infections in the burgeoning pandemic to occur. You support the transmission mechanism, irrefutably, but can’t be personally blamed or anything — there’s an attractive proposition for ya!”

Martinez goes on to talk about the rising omicron threat and the uncertainty that still exists in the world and hopes Burton (and more than likely the millions of others who haven’t been vaccinated as yet) will change his mind.

“Meanwhile, we take refuge in the relative mildness of the latest variant, betting recklessly that the next one won’t be catastrophic, as we help enable its genesis by keeping the massive pool of illness alive and spreading,” he wrote. “The losses, some of them so close to home, are heartbreaking. As is the stance you’ve taken — for which you’re so widely adored. Though I know you have [your] reasons, and have built your place in this with the care of an architect, it’s just heartbreaking, brother.”

If Burton did change his mind, expect GH to quickly bring back Jason Morgan from the great beyond as his character has a lot of story yet to explore and tell.

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.