Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
July 12, 2021 - SACRAMENTO – Last week, to encourage Californians to come together, get their questions answered, and get vaccinated nearly a month after the state's reopening, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) organized a week of action as part of its "Let's Get to ImmUnity" public education campaign.
"Although California's vaccination rates are among the highest in the country, we must stay vigilant against COVID-19 and its variants," said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. "That means motivating the remaining Californians to get vaccinated, and encouraging our friends and families, too."
CDPH organized a week of programming up and down California, strategically focused on reaching the state's diverse geographic and demographic communities. Each day's events are designed to provide public education of the vaccines' safety and efficacy, encourage taking the vaccine through culturally relevant spokespeople and public health matter experts, and positively activate those who are hesitant.
On Monday, Dr. Pankaj Vij, MD discussed COVID-19 vaccine availability for residents 12+ on Facebook Live where he answered common questions about vaccines and encouraged people to get vaccinated.
On Wednesday, in partnership with Santa Clara County, CDPH sponsored a vaccination event at the FanFest area of the PayPal Park Stadium in San Jose prior to the soccer game between Mexican professional soccer teams America and Atlas. The event offered on-site vaccinations, games, family activities, food, music, and entertainment. Those that were vaccinated received two free tickets to the soccer match.
On Thursday, CDPH released a testimonial video in Cantonese featuring a Chinese-American Californian sharing his vaccine experience, his reasons for getting the vaccine, and his joy for returning to a sense of normalcy.
Also on Thursday, CDPH and its COVID-19 Tribal/AIAN Outreach & Media Lead NUNA Consulting Group co-hosted a session entitled, "Where do we go from here? Spiritual Wellness & Healing Webinar." Featuring Native Veteran Dirk Charley and Native Youth participant, the webinar is open to all community members and designed to connect, heal, and discuss next steps in pandemic recovery. In addition to the Tribal/AIAN webinar event, new toolkit materials will be available for the community, along with the launch of the VA58 AIAN landing page for the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in California.
The week will conclude with a Facebook Live discussing how the vaccines work, reproductive health, and more. The panel will feature:
- Dr. Diana Ramos, MD, OBGYN, Chair of California American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
- Dr. Kristine T. Phung, MD, Internal Medicine at UC Davis,
- Mariale Marrero, international content creator,
- and Patty Rodriguez, best-selling author, co-founder of Lil' Libros, and producer for On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
The "Let's Get to ImmUnity" campaign launched statewide in early March as part of California's broader Vaccinate ALL 58 effort to educate, motivate, and activate Californians to get vaccinated, with a focus on multicultural and multilingual media outlets. The campaign places additional focus on geographic areas hardest hit by the pandemic.
For more information on the COVID-19 vaccines, including to schedule an appointment, visit VaccinateALL58.com.
Source: CDPH
