Rallying Canadians to dedicate your vaccination and help get the word out to end the pandemic, together
New national consortium joins This Is Our Shot campaign to encourage vaccine confidence across Canada
TORONTO, June 9, 2021 /CNW/ - What's your reason for getting vaccinated? That's the question This Is Our Shot and more than 200 partners across Canada are asking Canadians in a nation-wide effort aimed at rallying together to increase vaccine confidence.
Whether it's a special someone or something that's been missing during the pandemic, the new campaign This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain is calling on all Canadians to dedicate their vaccination and help inspire others to get vaccinated so we can avoid a potential fourth wave of COVID-19 and further lockdowns.
"To date, the This Is Our Shot movement has made a major impact in encouraging Canadians to get informed and feel confident about vaccination in a way that's inclusive and community-based," says Anju Anand, MD FRCPC, Respirology.
"With the support of our new partners, we're hoping we can continue to get the message out to more communities across the country so we can end the pandemic, together," says Guri Pannu, This Is Our Shot, Founder.
To symbolize the joint effort, a new logo featuring a bandage will be used on t-shirts and other creative elements including an inspirational video that anchors the campaign. The 60-second video features frontline workers and Canadians who write their reasons for getting vaccinated on the bandage, with the hopes of inspiring others to dedicate their shot to the people and activities they've missed most. The video can be viewed here: This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain
While Canada has made significant progress with dose one vaccine coverage, there's still a long way to go and vaccine hesitancy remains a concern. Research from Boston Consulting Group and 19 to Zero reveals 21 per cent of Canadians (6.9 million) over the age of 16 are hesitant to get vaccinated, with the top-cited concerns being side-effects, vaccine effectiveness against new variants and the speed with which vaccines were developed. Most of this group includes those who are concerned about the long-term effects of the vaccine, BIPOC communities with a history of health inequity, and Gen Z who are less concerned with catching COVID-19.
"As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, connecting people with credible sources of information from health authorities to build trust and confidence is critical," said Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director of Facebook Canada. "This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain is a key part of this work, and the cross-industry collaboration enabled through this movement is essential.
This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain is backed by grassroots organizations, Canadian businesses, associations, healthcare professionals, community leaders and influencers. The goal is to ensure specific hesitant and hotspot communities have the right facts and information to replace vaccine hesitancy with confidence.
"We need to embrace the Canadian spirit of togetherness and do our part to reach that final goal, so we can be one step closer to economic recovery and getting Canadians safely back together again," says Kyle Norrington, President of Labatt Breweries of Canada.
Canadians are encouraged to participate in the This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain challenge by:
- Getting the vaccine when it's your turn.
- Buying a This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain t-shirt with all proceeds benefitting Kids Help Phone.
- Dedicating your vaccine to someone (or something) you care about.
- Sharing your dedication and tagging your friends and family to join the movement using #ThisIsOurShotCA and #TogetherAgain.
- Following @ThisIsOurShotCA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Finding vaccination information in one convenient place has been challenging during the pandemic. The campaign website www.ThisIsOurShot.ca addresses this by providing easy-to-understand vaccine FAQs, booking information and resources in more than 30 languages. A series of community townhalls will be held regularly through a variety of platforms to provide Canadians with the ability to get their questions answered by medical professionals, influencers and community leaders.
Since This Is Our Shot launched its campaign in April, more than $100,000 has been raised for Kids Help Phone through t-shirt sales.
ABOUT THIS IS OUR SHOT TO BE TOGETHER AGAIN
Grassroot organizations, healthcare professionals, frontline workers, local communities and some of Canada's largest businesses saw a need to get the word out about the safety of vaccines and replace hesitancy with confidence. Working together as a united group under the single banner of This Is Our Shot to be #TogetherAgain, they are dedicating their time and resources on one concerted effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy across Canada.
SOURCE Labatt Breweries of Canada
Jeff Blay, 289-241-5114, [email protected]
Share this article