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April 20, 2021/News Releases

Leading US hospitals team up to promote COVID-19 vaccination

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Angie Kiska | 216.312.9170

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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

UT Southwestern Medical Center

The University of Toledo 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, 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.

Media contacts:

Angie Kiska, Cleveland Clinic, 216-312-9170, kiskaa@ccf.org

Kevin Punsky, Mayo Clinic, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic – now in its centennial year – 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 70,800 employees worldwide are more than 4,660 salaried physicians and researchers, and 18,500 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,500-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 19 hospitals, more than 220 outpatient facilities, and locations in southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2020, there were 8.7 million total outpatient visits, 273,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 217,000 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/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.

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