DOH launches vaccine outreach ads in every language

New York is rounding the corner on 6.6 million doses administered so far, though daily trends do indicate a tad bit of slow down and some disparities remaining in community vaccine coverage of the boroughs.

In response, the Health Department (DOH) is expanding the outreach and distribution of vaccines with a focus on multicultural public health messages.

The DOH said it is really trying hard to speak people’s language and meet them where they are with this campaign. They designed content informed by community input and focus group testing.

Vaccination campaign ads, set to run from May 3 through the end of June, will feature multicultural and multilingual New Yorkers. They will be broadcast in and feature Spanish, Haitian Creole, Yiddish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Bengali and Urdu-speaking communities among others.

For example, the ‘Almost There’ campaign reaches out to the Orthodox Jewish community members to do their part to save a life by getting vaccinated.

“These campaigns are by and for the communities we’re striving to reach,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi in a statement. “We want New Yorkers to hear about the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in the languages that they speak from people whom they trust. This vaccine is for you and your community.”

Additionally, new public-service announcements featuring doctors addressing vaccine confidence, medical mistrust and racism will run, said the DOH, with a specific goal of reaching Black and Brown New Yorkers.

According to city data , Black and Latino New Yorkers are still the least vaccinated citywide while Asian (and NH/PI) and White New Yorkers are the most vaccinated groups citywide mirroring many other COVID crisis trends over the past year and a few months.

“There is no better time – there literally has not been ever a better time to get vaccinated than now. It is the easiest it’s ever been. The walk-ins at so many of the City-sponsored sites make it really easy,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio yesterday in his Monday morning briefing. “A lot more, great sites being set up all the time. A lot of wonderful opportunities to go and get vaccinated in your community.”

“Look, I know ever since I talked about the July 1st reopening, there’s been tremendous positive feedback, a lot of energy, a lot of hope. You can do something to make sure that we reopened strong, go out and get vaccinated,” he added.