White House to promote vaccine eligibility with media blitz
As all Americans 16 years and older become eligible for the vaccine on Monday, the White House is launching a media blitz to raise awareness about Americans’ vaccine eligibility, an administration official said.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden moved up the deadline for states to make all American adults eligible for the vaccine to April 19, after an original deadline of May 1.
The blitz, outlined by the administration official, will include more than 30 local media interviews across the country. Part of their outreach will target specific constituencies, including Black, Latino and rural communities, through interviews with outlets such as the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, Telemundo and All Ag News. There will also be a series of national media hits featuring doctors.
Axios was first to report news of the media blitz.
Biden and former President Barack Obama joined a slate of celebrities Sunday evening in urging Americans to get vaccinated during an hour-long NBC special aimed at boosting confidence in the shots and raising awareness about eligibility.
Biden is planning to tape a PSA-style video that will air on social media platforms. Vice President Kamala Harris will also promote the eligibility on social media and participate in an interview with Carolina Peacemaker, an African-American newspaper in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she is traveling on Monday.
Administration officials who will be part of the push include Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, White House Senior Policy Adviser for Covid-19 Equity Cameron Webb and White House Senior Adviser for Covid Response Andy Slavitt.
Slavitt told CNN’s Pamela Brown Sunday that 90% of Americans will be within 5 miles of a vaccine distribution site. He added there are plenty of vaccine appointments available across the country, and while people might not be able to get an appointment Monday, it’s getting substantially easier for people to get appointments, noting that there are more than 50 million doses out there waiting for people.
In an attempt to target young people, Fauci will tape short videos to run on Snapchat. The administration will also send push notifications about the eligibility through Facebook and Twitter.
The administration is also providing a social media toolkit to 6,000 Community Corps members to offer guidance on how to promote the eligibility on digital channels.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
