The new program is set to be publicly announced April 1. The local leaders will be known as COVID-19 Community Corps and will work to improve vaccine messaging within their own communities and lead efforts to fight skepticism and misinformation.
“The COVID-19 Community Corps will be an effort to galvanize trusted messengers — doctors, nurses, faith leaders, rural stakeholders, leaders across the country in local communities — to encourage people to get vaccinated,” Ben Wakana, White House COVID-19 response official, wrote in an accompanying message cited by Politico.
The HHS and the CDC will oversee the initiative, providing volunteers with weekly fact sheets and talking points that they’d be expected to promote on social media and distribute within their networks. Volunteers will also participate in virtual events and eventually host their own vaccination drives, reports Politico.
The planned public rollout comes days after the government debuted a broader “We Can Do This” vaccination campaign designed to boost confidence.
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