What Broadcasters are Doing

An unvaccinated viewer scheduled and received a vaccine after viewing a WTLV-WJXX First Coast News newscast featuring a Zoom meeting with Jacksonville’s Baptist Health Service in regards to COVID-19 and the Delta variant.

ViacomCBS developed and aired custom creatives around the theme of "wearing your heart on your sleeve" featuring top country music talent Tenille Arts and Lainey Wilson during the CMT Awards. ViacomCBS will continue rolling out spots featuring well known talent across their networks over the next few months to amplify vaccine education.

Gray’s WSFA-TV hosted a Q-and-A session on the National Month of Action between reporter Bethany Davis and Dr. Cameron Webb, the White House COVID-19 Task Force advisor.

WGCL, along with National Association of Broadcasters, is kicking off National Month of Action on June 4 to share vaccine education with coverage throughout the day as well as social media conversations using the hashtag #WeCanDoThis.

Hearst Television stations are launching the new “Get the Facts On the Vax” initiative, bringing in local experts to answer questions on air every day about COVID-19 vaccines.

WCAU and WWSI, the NBC and Telemundo stations in Philadelphia owned by NBCUniversal, partnered with the New Jersey Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to host a bilingual COVID-19 vaccine informational phone bank on April 27.

On May 13, Morgan Murphy Media TV stations across the country will work together to run a Vaccine Day, a day long informational phone bank dedicated to providing information related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

On May 7, WKMG News 6 the Graham Media Group CBS affiliate in Orlando, FL devoted all day to cover everything related to the COVID-19 vaccine from where to get the vaccine and vaccine disparities, to answering individual viewer questions.

Nexstar's WOWK 13 News in West Virginia has created a special section on its website focused on vaccine resources for its viewers across the state and regularly promotes vaccine education with promos and content.

Graham Media's WDIV in Detroit aired and live-streamed a live special in prime time, centering on Michigan’s surging Covid cases and vaccines. WDIV’s Dr. Frank McGeorge interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci, about why he thinks things are so bad in Michigan, what life will look like after the vaccine, and the one thing he was able to do after being fully vaccinated.

Middle Tennessee State University’s WMOT Murfreesboro, Tenn., reported on the concerns from immunocompromised people regarding the vaccine and whether it’s safe to take it due to their health conditions.

NBCUniversal launched on February 11 the “Plan Your Vaccine” initiative, a nationwide awareness campaign, website and interactive tool that provides the latest news and information about the COVID-19 vaccine. PlanYourVaccine.com allows users to navigate the vaccine rollout by state, help determine if they are currently eligible to receive the vaccine and find the closest vaccination location.

Nexstar Media Group’s CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate KELO-TV Sioux Falls, S.D., aired a report on January 22 about a vaccination clinic held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day by the Rosebud Indian Health Service (IHS) to get members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe vaccinated. The goal was to get 500 people vaccinated with their first dose, and at the end of the day 572 individuals were vaccinated.

Hearst Television’s ABC affiliate KOAT-TV Albuquerque, N.M., aired on April 8 a 30-minute special, “COVID-19 Impact: Your Questions Answered,” dedicated to answering viewer questions about the vaccine distribution and different vaccine options.

In COVID-19: Immunity in Our Community, a new podcast series from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, iHeartRadio, and ABC News, host Robin Roberts (Good Morning America) hears from Americans on the front lines: teachers, nurses, parents, and caregivers—many of whom were uncertain about the vaccines, and uncovers the scientific facts that convinced them to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated.

Univision Los Angeles produced a statewide forum addressing the rhetoric surrounding the Coronavirus vaccine, the hurdles surrounding access, as well as some of the economic relief being offered.

NBC/CW affiliate WIS-TV Columbia, S.C., is encouraging viewers to send in their questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine to their website, and Digital Reporter Madeline Cuddihy answered several of these questions on air on February 15.

Washington, D.C.'s WUSA recently aired an investigative story delving into low vaccination rates in Prince George's County, Maryland.

KXLY in Spokane, Wash., created spots to promote its Vaccine Information HQ web page, which provides viewers the latest case numbers, vaccine information and news about COVID.

KTRK-TV Houston, Texas, hosted a two-night townhall on the COVID-19 vaccine and infection rate focused on addressing concerns in the Hispanic and Black communities.

KCBS Radio San Francisco, Calif., discussed the issue of vaccine efficacy during its “Ask an Expert” segment on February 16. Dr. Cody Meissner, professor of pediatrics at Tufts Medical Center and member of the FDA advisory panel on vaccines, answered submitted questions from listeners and discussed the different reported efficacy rate of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine compared to the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

WLWT Cincinnati, Ohio, highlighted on February 17 the effort to vaccinate all teachers in the state so students can return to the classrooms. In Warren County, staff signed up online and picked a time slot to get vaccinated. More than 82% of teachers in Lebanon City Schools signed up to receive the vaccine, and around 140 shots of Pfizer vaccine were administered each hour in collaboration with Premier Health.

Univision's Despierta América created a social media video featuring their in-house doctor, Dr. Juan, to explain vaccines to their viewers.

TEGNA’s NBC affiliate WTLV and ABC affiliate WJXX Jacksonville, Fla., known as “First Coast News,” formed a Vaccine Team to help answer viewer questions regarding vaccination, consisting of reporters and producers who take calls, emails and texts from viewers and share that information on all their platforms.

KMMO Marshall, Mo., highlighted on its website an initiative designed to assist older Missourians with accessing the COVID-19 vaccine.

PBS Guam hosted a vaccine virtual town hall to answer viewers' questions about COVID and the vaccination.

Telemundo 33's Jocelin Cuevas reported on vaccines and COVID for the station's largely Spanish-speaking audience.

WISN News in Milwaukee featured a segment focusing on answers about the vaccine and how it works.

WSFA12 in Alabama aired a recent segment about vaccines entitled "Fear, Facts, Future: The COVID-19 Vaccine Explained Live from Tuskegee" to help viewers understand how vaccines work.

KTLA aired a segment on March 5 to discuss a joint Kaiser Family Foundation and Black Coalition Against COVID-19 campaign called "Between Us and About Us."

Instead of a reporter interviewing the experts, WXIA Atlanta turned the questioning about vaccines over to an Atlanta viewer skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccines, a mom with two kids who was also a caregiver for her live-in elderly mother.

TEGNA's Verify initiative provides a playlist of videos that fact-check COVID-19 vaccine myths, viral posts and theories.

ABC7 News in San Francisco and the Bay Area created a COVID-19 vaccine tracker in California.

WGCL-TV in Atlanta has created a single landing page for vaccine-related news, dashboards, maps and regularly-updated news features.

WYES, a PBS station in New Orleans hosted a "Living in the New Normal," a special about COVID and vaccine effectiveness and availability.

Univision 14 in the Bay Area uses Facebook to keep its viewers informed about the COVID-19 vaccine and to sign up for notifications.

WCAX-TV in Vermont aired a segment to distinguish COVID-19 vaccine facts vs. fiction.

San Antonio's KSAT 12 featured a segment on unfounded social media theory claiming there are microchips and tracking devices in the COVID-19 vaccine.

Longtime WJXT, Jacksonville, anchor Tom Wills gets the COVID-19 vaccine and encourages others to do the same on Facebook.

WPVI-TV in Philadelphia offers viewers a VaxFacts page, which includes a vaccine tracker and searchable map for vaccine locations across Pennsylvania.

KTRK-TV in Houston provides a COVID-19 and vaccine tracker for viewers.