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National Association of Manufacturers Campaign Counters Vaccine Hesitancy

The new NAM campaign is directly aimed at confronting Americans’ doubts and fears about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, amplifying the message that widespread vaccination is the way out of the pandemic and back to work.

Responding to a sobering new milestone of 100 million COVID-19 cases worldwide, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute—NAM’s workforce development and education partner—are launching a new project aiming to stop the virus in its tracks by convincing more Americans to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“One hundred million people have now been impacted by this horrible disease. Asking all Americans to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated against COVID-19 is a pivotal step toward stopping this upward trend, putting millions of people back to work, and eradicating this virus,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons in a press release.

The project, “This Is Our Shot,” seeks to boost COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among manufacturing team members, their families, and their communities through a multifaceted national campaign. A staggering statistic of 100 million cases worldwide and a virus that is mutating means the country’s response and recovery are essential, NAM says. The project corresponds to the organization’s nearly year-long campaign urging Americans to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

The project comes as new data is showing resistance to the vaccine in hard-hit communities. Research by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found a significant gap in vaccine confidence among Black adults in the U.S., despite their being disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

The NFID survey found that only 49 percent of Black adults plan to get vaccinated against the disease, 30 percent do not plan to get a vaccinated, and 20 percent are unsure. The top reasons cited were concerns about the safety and efficacy of vaccines based on the speed of development and fears that the vaccine could hurt them or infect them with the virus.

As part of the launch, NAM released “I Love Frank,” a public service announcement highlighting why people who work in manufacturing are planning to get a COVID-19 vaccine to protect their family, coworkers, and communities. The PSA will run across various social media and digital platforms and is the first in a series that will be released in 2021.

“This project builds on our months of work advocating the use of face masks and other smart health measures to protect all Americans as we continue to share our insights with the Biden administration and state officials to help defeat COVID-19,” Timmons said. “Now is our opportunity as a country to end this pandemic. Our future depends on all of us rolling up our sleeves and getting armed against COVID-19.”

(YouTube screenshot)

Lisa Boylan

By Lisa Boylan

Lisa Boylan is a senior editor of Associations Now. MORE

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