Ascension St. Vincent’s is collaborating with a coalition of 60 of America’s hospitals and healthcare institutions on a nationwide campaign to encourage adults to get vaccinated for 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 a return to normal activities. 

The campaign hopes to reach adults who are hesitant to receive a vaccine. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 17 percent of the public say they will take a wait-and-see approach before getting it themselves, and another 20 percent 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. 

“From the moment COVID-19 emerged in the United States, dedicated caregivers across our community and beyond have worked heroically and tirelessly to care for those impacted by the pandemic. Now, the promise of a safe and effective vaccine is critical to stopping the spread,” said Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast President and CEO Tom VanOsdol. “All vaccines require extensive research and development and closely monitored clinical trials to determine efficacy and safety. We are confident in this process and in the safety of the available COVID-19 vaccines and encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible and do their part for community immunity.”

To achieve community immunity and help end the pandemic, leading health officials say at least 75 percent 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.

More than 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and more than 50 percent of the population age 18 and over has received at least one vaccine dose in the U.S., 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. 

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

In addition to their hard work to encourage nationwide vaccinations, Ascension St. Vincent’s two new community emergency rooms in Arlington and on Jacksonville’s Westside have received 5-star recognition for overall quality of care by Professional Research Consultants, Inc. (PRC), a leader in the healthcare intelligence space. The Excellence in Healthcare Awards recognizes organizations and individuals who achieve excellence throughout the year by improving patient experiences, healthcare employee engagement, and/or physician alignment and engagement based on surveys.