US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HOSTS FIRST-EVER MULTICULTURAL PRESS BRIEFING LIVE ON NEWLY LAUNCHED BIPOCXCHANGE
Multicultural Media Correspondents Association’s Single Solution Metaverse Platform Offers Direct Link to Over 300 BIPOC Publishers, Reporters and Media Organizations
From L to R (Top Row) Darren D. Dickerson, BIPOCXChange COO; David Morgan, MMCA founder, Dr. Jose E. Romero, Director of CDC National Center For Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; (Second Row) Hannah Kim, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary; Georgeta Dragoiu, HHS; Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General; Alvaro Gurdian National Association of Hispanic Publishers; Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., National Newspaper Publishers Association CEO; and Levi Rickert, Native News Online. Photo Credit: BIPOCXChange
(Washington, DC., October 27, 2022) - In a critical move to reach Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native Americans citizens, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today collaborated with Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association(MMCA) to host its first-ever press briefing on the newly established BIPOCXChange. The BIPOCXChange, a single solution platform for BIPOC Media engagement, offered HHS a one-stop solution to reach often neglected, trusted multicultural media, essential in achieving the administration’s health equity goals.
Led by Hannah Kim, Deputy Assistant Secretary for health care in the Office of Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (HHS), as part of the We Can Do This - COVID-19 Public Education Campaign, the briefing focused on how far the U.S. has come in the fight against COVID-19 and the importance of sustaining that progress by getting the updated vaccines. Locations to schedule vaccines, tool kits and other resources are available at www.vaccines.gov . Updated vaccines are now available for people ages 5 and up.
Another discussion during the briefing was health equity. A fundamental focus of the HSS COVID-19 Public Education Campaign has been health equity. Here are a few key points discussed:
Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the campaign has partnered with over 1,000 organizations, the majority of which work with minority or rural communities.
These partnerships alone have reached over 26 million people and resulted in hundreds of events, and tens of thousands of vaccinations.
These actions helped close a 10-point disparity gap in our nation’s vaccination rate last year — between White and Black/Latino communities.
Materials have been translated in over 17 languages including: English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese.
And just this week, the COVID-19 Public Education Campaign launched new national and local TV, radio and print ads geared at reaching Black and Latino audiences in more than 30 markets in English and Spanish.
Speakers for The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 briefing included; Dr. Cameron Webb, Senior Advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response Team; Dr. Vivek Murthy,U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. José R. Romero, Director of National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as representatives from the HHS COVID-19 Public Education Campaign. BIPOC organizations participating in the briefing included NNPA (National Newspaper Publishers Association), NAHP (National Association of Hispanic Publications), AAJA (Asian American Journalist Association),NAJA (Native American Journalist Association), NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists), NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists), MMCA (Multicultural Media Correspondents Association), MIJE (Maynard Institute for Journalism Education), NPC (National Press Club), and AMEJA (Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association).
Dr. Cameron Webb, Senior Advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response Team said “We know there is a path to making sure equity is centered in the vaccination effort. And it starts with respecting and acknowledging the people from the community are going to be the key to our success.” He continued, “It’s recognizing that there are resources that are necessary to help support community organizations in their outreach and their work. It’s making sure that there are vaccines in every community and people can access these vaccines.”
David Morgan, MMCA President and CEO of the BIPOCXChange commented, “We are pleased that HHS hosted this timely and vitally important COV-19 briefing on the BIPOCXChange and that over 100 BIPOC publishers were able to join. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and our efforts to leverage trusted BIPOC voices to increase community engagement and provide consistent and accurate public health information to the communities we serve.”
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ABOUT BIPOCXChange
The BIPOCXChange is a metaverse solution created by MMCA to help Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) media increase ownership and control over how their community’s stories are told. Free to join, the XChange is designed to provide media owners, buyers, brands, and creators with a single solution to connect with one another, identify needs, understand changing demographics, and reach core audiences. The ultimate goal for the BIPOCXChange is to increase access for multicultural media in the metaverse, drive coverage and ensure equity and inclusivity on this new platform. Visit www.staging.bipocxchange.com for more information.
ABOUT MMCA
MMCA is a BIPOC and non-partisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to secure greater control of who, what, where, when and how our story is told. We are proud to have built a powerful platform that (1) fosters coalition-building among BIPOC media advocacy organizations, (2) shapes media policy, (3) facilitates constructive engagement between policymakers and media industry stakeholders, (4) provides assistance to BIPOC media stakeholders, and (5) celebrates BIPOC media excellence. Follow us @mmcadc on all social platforms.
Cameron Webb, MD, JD, serves as senior policy advisor for equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team.
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2021 to serve as the 21st Surgeon General of the United States.
Dr. José R. Romero, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAAS, Director of National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
MODERATOR
Hannah Y. Kim serves in the Biden-Harris Administration at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where she was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for health care in the Office of Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. She is currently the Strategic Advisor for the COVID Public Education Campaign.
The HHS COVID-19 public education campaign is a national initiative to increase public confidence in and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines while reinforcing basic prevention measures such as mask wearing and social distancing.
Through a nationwide network of trusted messengers and consistent, fact-based public health messaging, the campaign helps the public make informed decisions about their health and COVID-19, including steps to protect themselves and their communities.
The effort is driven by communication science and provides tailored information for at-risk groups.
Strategy and Goals
This effort focuses on Americans who want to protect their health, but may have questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. We aim to:
Explain how Americans can protect themselves from COVID-19.
Strengthen public confidence in the vaccines so those who are hesitant will be more willing to consider vaccination
Increase vaccine uptake by informing Americans about how and where to get vaccinated
The campaign is expanding its reach by engaging with a broad range of groups and individuals, including trusted community organizations, local leaders, and others sharing the goal of increasing vaccine confidence and uptake.
Our public education activities are organized around three themes:
Slow the Spread: Basic prevention measures that should be taken while waiting for the vaccine
Building Vaccine Confidence: Information and resources to build confidence about the COVID vaccines so people are ready to get vaccinated or boosted when it is time
Protecting the Nation: Fact based, scientific information about vaccine development, safety, and effectiveness
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) COVID-19 Public Education Campaign (PEC) is a national initiative to increase public confidence in and uptake of COVID vaccines and boosters while reinforcing basic prevention measures.
Through a nationwide network of trusted messengers and consistent, fact-based public health messaging, the Campaign helps the public make informed decisions about their health and COVID, including steps to protect themselves and their communities.
The effort is driven by communication science and provides tailored information for at-risk groups. The Campaign supports efforts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others across HHS to use education to improve public health.
Communication products and initiatives are designed to help those in the Movable Middle—people who want to protect their health but have questions about vaccines—become more willing to consider vaccination and boosters. Some Campaign products and initiatives help parents who are seeking information about vaccines and boosters for their children. The We Can Do This Campaign aims to connect with Americans from all backgrounds. While the Campaign aims to build confidence in vaccines and boosters, it also reinforces basic messages about prevention and treatment of COVID.
Opportunity
Science-based public education campaigns are proven to motivate behavior change. HHS has assembled a team to implement a COVID Public Education Campaign informed by science, aligned with evidence-based best practices, and guided by agency peer review.
Campaign goals
Increase vaccine confidence and uptake while reinforcing basic prevention measures.
Connect the public with factual government information about COVID.
Overall Campaign strategy
HHS is using a comprehensive media campaign and collaboration with public health influencers to reach Americans through traditional, digital, and social media in culturally appropriate ways. HHS is also providing rapidly evolving messages based on the latest scientific information and research.
A robust and continuous cycle of research drives all Campaign activities.
Research includes audience segmentation, daily monitoring of news stories and social media, secondary data scans, foundational and creative focus group discussions, creative testing surveys, and production of a weekly current events tracker.
Additional outcome surveys and analysis, along with social listening, enable Campaign performance and impact assessment in real time, allowing for adjustments that align with the rapidly changing environment.
Message and materials production
The Campaign uses products for paid and earned traditional, digital, and social media platforms such as:
Website integration with CDC.gov to provide up-to-date information on COVID and connection to paid ads driving to the CDC website.
Comprehensive vaccine confidence ads created for multiple platforms (radio, TV, social, digital, print, out-of-home).
Culturally tailored, plain language materials to support partners’ outreach to their communities.
Paid and earned media
The Campaign uses both paid advertising and media interviews, presentations, radio/TV tours, and other public events to educate people about the importance of vaccination and basic prevention measures to help prevent COVID and protect public health. The Campaign is designed to reach 90% of the American adult population at least once per quarter. On average, they would be reached at least 10 times.
The Campaign’s paid media activities focus on three strategies:
Slow the Spread—Provides general audiences with actions they can take while waiting for a vaccine to protect themselves, family members, and their community, as well as tailored messaging to those who are disproportionately affected.
Building Vaccine Confidence—Uses public education to build confidence about the COVID vaccines so people are ready to get vaccinated or boosted when it is time.
Protecting the Nation—Provides general audiences with information about vaccine development, safety, and effectiveness, including answers to common questions.
Earned media outreach features trusted messengers, particularly local health care professionals, and influencers from multicultural and other communities hit hard by COVID as well as experts from HHS agencies, the larger public health community, academia, and industry. They provide factual, timely information and steps people can take to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.
Partnerships
The Campaign uses widespread partnership networks that already exist within HHS and among HHS agencies.
Through our partners’ insights and trusted voices in their communities, we can support the needs of each of our target audiences—meeting them where they are and providing access to the resources they need.
The Campaign also collaborates with corporations, foundations, and not-for-profits that share a common mission of helping prevent COVID and protecting public health.
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