[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Investigations.]
By Steve Miller
Real Clear Investigations
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — On Interstate 59, a neon …
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Investigations.] By Steve Miller Real Clear Investigations HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — On Interstate 59, a neon billboard used by the Alabama Department of Public Health advises motorists to get their flu and pneumonia vaccines. Placards placed atop gas pumps around the state also promote the flu vaccine. But the vaccine that will quell COVID-19, a virus that has killed 400,000 nationwide, crippled businesses and prompted governments to force onerous restrictions the public, gets no mention. Karen Landers, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Health, said the state has “no specific marketing campaign going on” because “the vaccine supply is less than the demand, here and nationwide.” Alabama, though, has plenty of medicine and many residents wondering how to get it. Records show that the state has received 444,000 doses of the vaccine as of Friday, and has vaccinated 100,000 people, using around 23% of its allotted doses. Across the U.S.,31 million doses of the COVID vaccine have been distributed as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while states have administered 12 million, around 38%. The vaccine produced by pharma giants Moderna and Pfizer are two-dose treatments that provide up to 95% protection. The failure of Alabama and other states around the country to launch vaccine advertising campaigns – touting the medicine’s efficacy and informing people how and where they can receive it – is creating potentially life-threatening confusion. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to spend more money on vaccinations, allocating $400 billion in a plan that includes using local pharmacies (a feature borrowed from the Trump administration) and mass vaccination centers. Biden said the push will include a public awareness campaign aimed at promoting the importance of getting inoculated. But for now the lack of advertising is striking because local and federal government agencies routinely spend large sums on public health campaigns – including warning people how to behave in response to COVID-19. The Obama administration spent $684 million driving awareness of the Affordable Care Act starting in 2013, although it was dogged by the rollout of a federal web portal widely viewed as disastrous. The pharmaceutical industry spent $9.5 billion on digital advertising alone in 2020, according to researcher eMarketer. Hard-to-Reach Audiences One of the challenges of the covid vaccine, as with Obamacare, is connecting with people who are hard to reach, including those without Internet service or who aren’t avid news followers.
