The public health campaign to sell people on COVID-19 vaccinations is more than a year old, but its success is limited. The latest strain of the virus shows that unvaccinated people are significantly more likely to contract the omicron variant, resulting in higher rates of hospitalization and death.
This reality raises a question – why are people refusing the shots? What’s gone wrong with the public health message?
Early on the focus was on mass vaccinations, which convinced many millions of people. When the numbers stalled, it was time for incentives; get a shot, win a gift card or a car. In West Virginia, the campaign became, “Do it for Baby Dog,” using the governor’s English Bulldog as a mascot. But few of these efforts are swaying vaccine-resistant people.
So, what will work?
In this episode of Us & Them, we hear why vaccination campaigns were successful in the past, and the approach many experts say we need to start trying.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Greater Kanawha Valley and the CRC Foundation.
This program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 through the West Virginia Humanities Council. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond. You also can listen to Us & Them on WVPB Radio — tune in Thursday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m., or listen to the encore presentation on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 3 p.m.
