The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging people to get vaccinated and take other steps to curb the impact of viral respiratory diseases with a campaign focused on emotional ties to families and friends.
In a statement to reveal the campaign, the CDC discussed how its strategy was shaped by the need to counterbalance “pandemic fatigue.” The brief resulted in “emotionally appealing ads” focused on the idea that some people are everything to you—and you are everything to them—and as such you should do everything you can to protect yourself and your loved ones.
The video shared by the CDC starts with a Black girl running into the arms of a joyous Black woman in a military uniform. As the two embrace, a voice-over says “when she’s your everything,” setting the theme for the spot. In the following scenes, we see footage of other people with their “everything": children, an unborn child and older relatives. The footage tees up the main message of the ad.
“When they're your everything, their health is everything. Get recommended vaccines and take steps to protect you and yours from the worst of COVID-19, flu and RSV—because you're someone's everything too,” the voice-over concludes.
The CDC has also created a shorter, silent slideshow that focuses more directly on the vaccine message. One slide has the text “vaccinate to keep them well” over the image of an embrace between younger and older people. Another slide shows seniors meeting for drinks and the text “Getting together? Get your recommended vaccines now to protect you and yours.”
On the final slide, the CDC lists testing, air quality improvements and masks as other actions that are part of doing “everything to keep well.” Vaccines are the focus of the campaign, though, and the data suggest a need for actions that persuade people to get their shots.
Uptake of flu vaccines is lower than in previous years. As of the end of September, 12.7% of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older had received an influenza shot, down from 15.3% last flu season and 17.5% the year before that, according to the CDC. At 38.2%, uptake in children at the last count was lower than at the same point in any of the four previous years.