An example of one of the CDCs digital images that can be used in social media vaccination education campaigns
One of the digital images that can be used by healthcare providers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a new set of pre-written social media messages that can be used by long-term care providers to educate staff members and residents about COVID-19 vaccine safety and benefits.

Information is available for use on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and the messages answer questions in three categories: vaccine benefits, vaccine safety and what to expect after vaccination. The agency also offers digital graphic art that’s tailored to each platform.

Willingness to be vaccinated has varied in long-term care, especially among staffers, observers have reported. Now that many more onsite vaccine clinics are now scheduled, facility clinicians and administrators should turn their focus to the issue of vaccine hesitancy, according to the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living.

“Uptake among residents and staff is varying widely,” President and CEO Mark Parkinson said last week. “But in general, staff seem to be mirroring the general public’s reaction: excitement mixed with hesitation about the vaccines’ development and safety.”

An example of one of the CDCs digital image that can be used in social media vaccination education campaigns
Digital images complement pre-written social media statements.

CVS Health and Walgreens have said they expect to complete the first round of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations by Jan. 25, which means consent forms need to be explained to potential recipients and their questions answered. AHCA / NCAL has challenged the industry and vaccine providers to help get all long-term care vaccinations completed by March.

“The faster we get people vaccinated, the more lives we can save,” Parkinson said. 

The new social media toolkit can be found here.

In related vaccine news:

Governors urge feds to ship all Pfizer vaccine doses A group of Democratic governors want the federal government to release the second doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine now. The initial supply is limited, and doses have been held back temporarily with the intent to safeguard them while ensuring that there is enough for the second round of a Pfizer two-dose vaccination regimen in vulnerable phase 1a patients, according to Operation Warp Speed officials. But the governors are concerned that while doses wait to be shipped, the United States is losing more than 2,000 Americans each day, according to Inside Health Policy. 

Approval of AstraZeneca vaccine looks likely for European Union A decision to authorize the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine could be made by the European Union by the end of January, the bloc’s medicines regulator said Friday, according to Agence France-Presse. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not yet approved for emergency use in the United States.