The Biden administration announced an initiative to promote vaccination among Americans on Thursday, launching an ad campaign and a community corps made up of local leaders and trusted organizations to help promote the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines to the public. This comes as President Biden has made it a goal for all American adults to be eligible to receive the vaccine by May 1.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced that 275 organizations are taking part in the COVID-19 Community Corps with the intention of members of the public joining to “become leaders within their own communities to help get friends, family, and neighbors vaccinated.”
Those who sign up to be a member of the corps will receive information on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and tips on talking to loved ones and their communities about how important it is to get vaccinated. In addition to average Americans, the initiative has partnered with the NFL, NASCAR, the American Medical Association, and rural organizations such as the American Farm Bureau and the National Corn Growers Association.
One major objective of the plan is reaching communities of color, with the corps teaming up with several HBCUs and other prominent groups such as the NAACP, Ciencia Puerto Rico, and the National Council of Urban Indian Health.
The HHS is also rolling out an ad campaign that will run through April on television and digital outlets. The department has made “multimillion-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 campaign features four ads, including a Spanish-language ad and one narrated by the historian Henry Louis Gates aimed at African Americans.
In one ad entitled “It’s Time,” the text reads, “In 2020, COVID pushed us all to the brink. Now, we push back.”
