CLEVELAND, Ohio, and ROCHESTER, Minn. — A coalition of 60 top hospitals and health care institutions have joined forces in a nationwide campaign to encourage adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Led by Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, the campaign "Get the Vaccine to Save Lives" is designed to reassure the public that vaccines are safe, effective and necessary to achieve herd immunity and return to normal activities.

"We're asking people to talk to their health care providers if they have questions and then get vaccinated," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., Mayo Clinic's president and CEO. "The vaccine is our strongest asset to end the pandemic, and I urge everyone who is eligible to get whichever vaccine you’re first offered to save lives."

The campaign hopes to reach adults who are hesitant to receive a vaccine, including racial and minority ethnic groups and people living in rural communities. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published March 30, 17% of the public say they will take a wait-and-see approach before getting it themselves, and another 20% say they will never get a vaccine or will only get it if required to do so for work, school or other activities. This leaves a significant portion of the population at risk of going unvaccinated.  

The nationwide campaign includes print and digital advertising, media outreach, social media, an awareness video and an informational website.

"The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and highly effective and offers our best hope for beating the disease," said Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., Cleveland Clinic's CEO and president. "We all want to see a return to our pre-COVID routines, when we can once again gather safely with family and friends. To reach that goal, we must improve vaccination rates to achieve herd immunity. Please sign up today because we are all in this together."

With vaccine distribution underway, the campaign aims to help Americans feel safe and confident about receiving a vaccine. To achieve herd immunity and help end the pandemic, leading health officials say at least 75% of the population needs to receive a vaccine. Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who have been vaccinated.

In addition to Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, 58 other leading U.S. health care institutions have joined the campaign. They include:

AdventHealth
Adventist Health
Allegheny Health Network
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Arizona Medical Association
Ascension St. Vincent's
Atrium Health
Banner Health
Baptist Health South Florida
Baylor Scott & White Health
Beaumont Health
BJC HealthCare
Brooks Rehabilitation
Broward Health
Centura Health
Einstein Healthcare Network
Emory Healthcare
Essentia Health
Hackensack Meridian
HonorHealth
Intermountain Healthcare    
Lee Health
Mass General Brigham
McLaren St. Luke’s
MedStar Health 
Memorial Healthcare System
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Mercy Health
Michigan Medicine
Monument Health
NCH Healthcare System
Nicklaus Children’s Health System
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Northwestern Medicine
Norton Healthcare
PeaceHealth
Piedmont Healthcare
ProMedica
Renown Health
Rush University Medical Center Chicago
Southwestern Health Resources
Spectrum Health
Summit Health
Texas Health
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The James Cancer Hospital
The Toledo Clinic
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
ThedaCare
UC Health (Cincinnati)
UNC Health
University Hospitals
University of Chicago Medicine
University of Iowa Health Care
University of Toledo Medical Center
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Virtua Health
WellSpan Health
Yale New Haven Health

More than 209 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 50% of the population age 18 and over has received at least one vaccine dose in the U.S. through April 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the Food and Drug Administration’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.

Ethos Creative Group of Burlington, North Carolina, created the campaign and donated their services. Facebook, iHeartRadio, Spectrum Reach, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and YouTube also provided complimentary resources.

For more information about the campaign, visit ourshot2savelives.org.

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About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Among Cleveland Clinic's 67,554 employees worldwide are more than 4,520 salaried physicians and researchers, and 17,000 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,026-bed health system that includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 18 hospitals, more than 220 outpatient facilities, and locations in southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada, Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2019, there were 9.8 million total outpatient visits, 309,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 255,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic's health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CCforMedia and twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. For information on COVID-19, including Mayo Clinic’s Coronavirus Map tracking tool, which has 14-day forecasting on COVID-19 trends, visit the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Resource Center.

Media contacts:

• Angie Kiska, Cleveland Clinic, 216-312-9170, kiskaa@ccf.org
• Kevin Punsky, Mayo Clinic, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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