Jocko Sims plays Dr. Floyd Reynolds on the medical drama "New Amsterdam," but he's not playing around with COVID ... he says everyone needs to get inoculated.
We got the masked-up actor outside in NYC's Hell's Kitchen and asked about the skepticism over the vaccine ... especially among Black people.
Jocko tells us he understands why his community is hesitant to get medicine courtesy of the U.S. government -- there's a disgraceful historical context -- but he says he's witnessed the carnage firsthand, so the vaccine is a choice of life over death.
The TV doc heaps praise on Obama, W. Bush and Clinton for agreeing to show themselves get needled on video ... to show others it's effective and safe.
As we told you ... Gayle King is also imploring people to follow the lead of the former presidents and trust the vaccine, trust science, and trust Dr. Fauci.
This type of reassurance might be vital as the vaccine becomes available to the public, especially in the African-American community. As we reported ... a new study shows only 14% of African-Americans trust the vaccine will be safe and only 18% trust it'll be effective.
Dr. Fauci's already trying to improve these numbers ... and hopefully, Jocko's streetside PSA helps.