KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization to Pfizer and Moderna for their COVID-19 vaccines, doctors and prominent politicians have been rolling up their sleeves.
Dr. Anthony Fauci and Vice President Mike Pence received their first COVID-19 vaccine doses live on national TV. It’s a strategy medical experts said is one of the most effective ways to raise awareness and confidence for vaccines.
“I think the best thing that helps is personal testimony,” Dr. Steve Sites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said. “As people say, ‘I got that vaccine and I’m safe,' then pretty soon (more) people are going to say, ‘I got the vaccine, and I was OK.’”
One of the best examples occurred in 1956 and involved the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
Elvis Presley agreed to get vaccinated against polio in front of cameras. According to historians, his actions helped encourage others to get a shot.
“The percentage of teenagers that actually got the polio vaccination after this promotion went from .6% to almost 8% in six months,” Angie Marchese, Graceland vice president of archives, said.
Medical experts worry more campaigns will be needed to encourage the general public to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. According to a Pew Research Center study, 39% of U.S. adults said they probably or definitely would not get vaccinated.
“The people working on this vaccine are trying to solve the pandemic, and really there’s no alternative motives,” Dr. Carlos Fierro, an investigator at the Johnson County Clin-Trials, said.
Fierro is overseeing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial at the Lenexa clinical research site. He said they have been following the same protocols as they would for any other vaccine trial that takes years to complete.
The COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, according to Fierro, because the government helped fund developments.
“The resources that need to be allocated to a project like this, they just aren’t available unless you go to private industry and prove that you have something with a very high degree of success,” he said.
Missouri launched its Stronger Together campaign, aimed at navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a spokesperson with the state Department of Health, the campaign will continue to evolve in phases to include vaccine confidence messages as vaccine availability increases and more groups of people are able to be served.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department told 41 Action News it plans to increase messaging in Brown and Black communities where COVID-19 cases and death rates are the highest. The health department is partnering with churches to increase testing and has goals to transition that partnership to vaccinations.
