Jackson State University developed a marketing strategy to educate people about COVID 19. The College of Health Sciences initially planned to focus on black young adults between 18 and 29. They’re expanding their reach because they say the need is great. Dr. Girmay Berhie is dean of the college.
“I think the biggest, biggest challenge about public health is we do not have consistent messaging. You could be Republican, a Democrat. We need to follow the science. We have to use masks until we get the vaccine,” said Berhie.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded Jackson State a $420,000 grant for the project. The plan includes radio and cable ads, social media outreach, billboards throughout Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties and live streamed town hall meetings beginning in January; among the topics; vaccines. Joyce Buckner-Brown at JSU helped create the campaign.
“African American have a distrust, mistrust of the medical community for various reasons, most people highlight the Tuskegee Study but there were problems long before that. We’re not trying to convince anyone to take the vaccination. We want an informed public,” said Buckner-Brown.
The Tuskegee Study conducted by white researchers recruited black men with and without syphilis to observe the progression of the disease. When penicillin became available to treat syphilis they weren’t given the drug. Doctoral student Tamika Stewart says some people think because they’ve only had minor COVID 19 symptoms, they won’t hurt someone else by not wearing a mask.
“There’s more than one strand of COVID. One strand might be one that only comes with a sniffle, sore throat etc. However, there’s multiple deadly strands,” said Stewart.
Project organizers say they’ll also be providing masks and hand sanitizer to long term care facilities, salons and churches.
