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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Launches Nationwide Network of Trusted Voices to Encourage Vaccination in Next Phase of COVID-19 Public Education Campaign
COVID-19 Community Corps to Mobilize Doctors, Community Leaders, Businesses and Citizens and Equip Them with Resources and Information to Build Vaccine Confidence and Uptake
HHS Also Launches First TV Ads Encouraging Vaccinations, and Social Media Profile Frames for Americans to Share Support of Vaccines with the Message “We Can Do This”
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing additional measures to encourage vaccinations and increase vaccine confidence as part of the next phase of its COVID-19 public education campaign. The Administration is launching the COVID-19 Community Corps – a nationwide, grassroots network of local voices people know and trust to encourage Americans to get vaccinated. As part of the launch of the Community Corps, Vice President Kamala Harris and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will meet with founding members on Thursday, April 1, as she begins championing the next phase of the public education campaign from the White House.
The Community Corps will be comprised of trusted voices in communities across the country, and the Administration will regularly share updated public health information and resources for them to use with their communities to help get friends, family, and followers vaccinated.
As part of this community-driven strategy, HHS is also unveiling new social media profile frames so Americans can display their choice to get vaccinated and encourage their friends and family to do the same, increasing confidence and uptake as vaccines become more available. And, today, the first TV ads, including in Spanish, will start running nationwide to encourage Americans to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. Importantly, the ads will emphasize a message – We Can Do This – that is a hopeful and unifying call to action that we each can do our part to end this pandemic by getting vaccinated.
These efforts follow last week’s announcement of nearly $10 billion to increase vaccine access and confidence in hard-hit vulnerable communities, including $3 billion of CDC funding to support outreach efforts in the states through community-based organizations and trusted community leaders. HHS also announced $250 million in minority health grants to increase vaccine uptake in minority communities, and CDC has provided $255 million in awards to community and civic groups for vaccine outreach.
HHS’s public education efforts are being co-chaired by Drs. Murthy, Francis Collins, Anthony Fauci, Marcella Nunez-Smith, and Rochelle Walensky, with Vice President Harris championing the next phase of the effort from the White House.
Today’s announcement includes:
Launching the COVID-19 Community Corps: HHS is launching a nationwide, grassroots network of local voices and trusted community leaders to encourage vaccinations, with more than 275 founding member organizations that have the ability to reach millions of Americans. This effort will mobilize health professionals, scientists, community organizations, faith leaders, businesses, rural stakeholders, civil rights organizations, sports leagues and athletes, and Americans from all walks of life to become leaders within their own communities to help get friends, family, and neighbors vaccinated. A full list of founding members can be found at the end of this fact sheet.
The program will provide resources and fact-based public health information through HHS in partnership with CDC.
Research shows that, when making the decision to get vaccinated, people want to hear from people they trust, such as medical professionals, their own family and friends, and leaders in their community . The Community Corps was created to provide those trusted messengers with consistent and accurate information about COVID-19 to empower as many Americans as possible to become messengers to share the importance of vaccination in their community. Anyone can become a Community Corps member, and members will receive weekly updates on the latest scientific and medical updates, talking points about the vaccine, social media suggestions, infographics, factsheets with timely, accurate information, and tools to help people get registered for an appointment and vaccinated. To become a member, the public can sign up at www.hhs.gov/covidcommunitycorps.
Launching Social Media Profile Frames to Build Grassroots Momentum for Vaccinations: As part of this community-oriented focus on cultivating a nationwide network of trusted voices, HHS and CDC are launching new social frames on Facebook to empower Americans across the country to share with their friends, family, and followers that they plan to get vaccinated. Giving individuals and pages the opportunity to use their profile picture to share their support for COVID-19 vaccination—and seeing others they trust in a friend group doing the same—will help increase confidence in the vaccine as it becomes more widely available. As part of this effort, Facebook will promote the frames in News Feed and encourage influencers to utilize them.
Airing TV Ads to Encourage Vaccinations Among Key Eligible Groups: HHS is beginning to air both English and Spanish language TV ads across the country to encourage vaccination among key groups currently eligible to receive vaccinations, including Americans age 65 and older. In addition to general market broadcast and cable advertising, HHS has also made multi-million dollar ad buys in Black and Spanish-language media, as well as in outlets that reach AAPI and Tribal populations, to add an additional layer of outreach and messaging to hard-hit communities. The ads begin airing today, will run throughout the month of April, and will also run on digital outlets.
The TV ads are below:
Full List of COVID-19 Community Corps Founding Members:
Public Health & Medical Organizations
Sports & Entertainment
Rural Leaders
Union & Organized Labor Leaders
Latinx Leaders
Black Leaders
AAPI Leaders
Native/Tribal Leaders
Veterans
Business Leaders
Faith Leaders
Community Leaders
* designates an individual that signed on to be a part of COVID-19 Community Corps
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