INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Health Department have announced a new social media and outreach campaign called, #GotMyShot.
The campaign is meant to spread awareness to Indianapolis community members and the reasons why they chose to get vaccinated, along with relevant COVID-19 information. Anyone is encouraged to get involved.
It also provides a platform for highly recognizable individuals and everyday people to share their stories about why they got vaccinated.
“What I did is I shared a picture of myself getting my shot, and I shared my ‘why’ and I hashtagged it hashtag-got-my-shot. I just wanted everybody to see why this was important to me and why it's important to my family and I think it's a really powerful way to get back to what matters most,” explained Tiffany Benjamin, Lilly Foundation President and #GotMyShot participant. “I know for me I've been missing a lot of different things, whether it's our churches or our families or really just activities that we love. And #GotMyShot and getting your shot is a way to get us back to what matters most.”
“To encourage vaccinations, people often need to hear that the vaccine is safe from other people they know and trust from within their community,” Mayor Hogsett said. “They also need to see why the people they trust are getting the vaccine in the neighborhoods, churches, and businesses where they live, work, and pray, which is why the commitment of this coalition is important.”
This new campaign builds on other city and statewide efforts to encourage vaccinations against COVID-19, including the African American neighborhoods and other communities of color.
“The campaign is primarily focused on the African-American community and other communities of color because we know the vaccination rates are lower for that community. In fact, what’ve seen is over 130,000 Indianapolis Marion County residents have been vaccinated but only 5% have been African American. And African Americans make up 21.9% of the population in Marion County," said Benjamin.
The campaign’s mission will help amplify efforts to address the barriers to vaccination acceptance, build trust that vaccines are safe and effective, and inform people where they can easily access a vaccine.
“We understand Hoosiers have unanswered questions about the vaccines and the vaccination process. All the COVID-19 vaccines available are tested, highly effective at preventing serious illness, and free. To encourage vaccinations, I invite our community members to join us in sharing stories about why they choose to get vaccinated and make sure their loved ones have the correct information about all the vaccine options available,” Dr. Caine said. “By bringing together influencers at all levels of the community, #GotMyShot is making sure those stories and facts are being heard.”
“We need to get more people talking about getting their shot and why they did it, and get people excited about sharing their experience and what they're really looking forward to in the future, once we're back to being a fully vaccinated society with herd immunity,” Benjamin added.
For more information on the #GotMyShot campaign, visit https://www.gotmyshotcampaign.com/.
