Today, COVID Collaborative announced a partnership with the Ad Council on an unprecedented $50 million vaccine education campaign. This initiative will represent one of the largest public education campaigns in history.

This national campaign will complement government efforts and will be guided by science and health advisors from the COVID Collaborative, a national assembly that has brought together leading experts and institutions across health, education, and the economy to turn the tide on the pandemic by supporting state and local officials.

According to a recent survey fielded by the COVID Collaborative, a majority of Americans (86%) believe that a vaccine will be effective in curbing the virus. Yet the survey found that only one-third (34%) say they will get vaccinated themselves. A new poll released today by the COVID Collaborative, NAACP and UnidosUS showed that trust in vaccines is particularly low in Black and Latinx communities, with only 14% of Black Americans and 34% of Latinx Americans trusting that a vaccine will be safe.

"COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting Black Americans, and generational trauma has led to massive distrust of vaccines," said Derrick Johnson, CEO of the NAACP. "The national education campaign will be a critical step in providing Black communities with the information they need to rebuild trust and get vaccinated."

Janet Murguía, President of UnidosUS, said, "Like all Americans, Latinos want to do what is best for their families and their communities. UnidosUS is proud, then, to partner with the COVID Collaborative to create culturally relevant and language-appropriate messaging for our community. Through this education and awareness campaign, we will help Hispanic Americans have the accurate and easy-to-understand information they need to protect themselves, their families and their communities by getting vaccinated."

COVID Collaborative has brought together a diverse advisory group to support the vaccination campaign and to ensure that vaccine messages are not only informed by the best science, but by representatives of historically marginalized communities to make sure the messages will resonate.

The scientific advisory group for this effort includes representatives from Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Morehouse School of Medicine, University of Miami and others. Additional insights will come from partners, including the American Public Health Association, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, CDC Foundation, NAACP, National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Governors Association (NGA), UnidosUS, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"Widespread adoption of the COVID-19 vaccine is our generation's 'moonshot' and will represent one of the largest public health interventions in our nation's history," said Lisa Sherman, Ad Council President and CEO. "By bringing together the worlds of communications, public health and policy, we can transform life as we know it today and save hundreds of thousands of lives."

The COVID Collaborative also released today a toolkit developed in partnership with the Ad Council and the Infectious Diseases Society of America to support Governors with communicating about mask wearing. The COVID Collaborative also issued a report on how to improve online learning endorsed by former U.S. Secretaries of Education. The COVID Collaborative, in partnership with the NGA and Collaborative member Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, has also provided Governors with recommendations regarding distribution of monoclonal antibody therapies.

The COVID Collaborative is chaired by former Governor and U.S. Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) and former Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA). It includes expertise from across Republican and Democratic Administrations at the federal, state and local levels, including former FDA Commissioners, CDC Directors, and U.S. Surgeon Generals; former U.S. Secretaries of Education, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services; leading public health experts and institutions that span the country; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Business Roundtable; the NAACP, UnidosUS, and the National Congress of American Indians; the Skoll Foundation, The Allstate Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation; and associations representing those on the front lines, from the American Public Health Association to the Council of the Great City Schools.

"We believe that only a united America can defeat COVID-19, which is why the COVID Collaborative is so critical to the fight ahead," said John Bridgeland, COVID Collaborative Co - Founder & CEO and former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. "Through transformational initiatives like the vaccine education campaign, we can turn the tide on the pandemic and put the nation on a path toward a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America."