Civic Nation Launches Made to Save Campaign to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence and Access in Communities of Color

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2021

CONTACT: press@civicnation.org

National public education and organizing campaign will invest in local communities through grants to community organizations, convene local and national stakeholders 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Civic Nation launched Made to Save, a national public education and grassroots organizing effort to make access to COVID-19 vaccines more equitable for communities of color and build trust in the vaccines among communities who have been hit hardest by the pandemic. The campaign is being launched alongside an array of corporate, nonprofit, labor and healthcare policy partners.

Made to Save will hold a press call TODAY at 2:00 p.m. ET with Valerie Jarrett, Chris Wyant, Reverend Matthew Watley, Dr. Alice Chen, and Ashley Allison to discuss the campaign. To RSVP for this call please register HERE.

Scores of people across the nation have been affected by the pandemic, but it has been felt the most by Black, Indigenous, and people of color: 31 percent of Black adults and 17 percent of Latinx adults know someone firsthand who has died from COVID-19, compared with only 9 percent of white adults. Pacific Islanders have the highest age-adjusted mortality rate from COVID-19 of any racial group in the United States. And Indigenous populations have the highest case rate, hospitalization rate and death rate in the country.

Addressing such disparities — which are no accident — is the campaign’s primary aim.

“Civic Nation is proud to launch Made to Save in partnership with several nonprofit, corporate and healthcare partners,” said Civic Nation Board Chair Valerie Jarrett. “Our mission is to educate, empower and connect trusted messengers with communities that may be vaccine hesitant in order to provide scientific information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, and help close access gaps among Black, Latinx, AAPI, Indigenous and other traditionally underserved communities.”

“The Made to Save campaign recognizes the power of communities, so we will use evidence-based strategies to empower our state and local partners to address the disparities we continue to see in the communities that have been most impacted by COVID-19,” said Made to Save Executive Director Chris Wyant. “That strategy includes relying on trusted messengers to drive dialogue, and listening and learning so our mobilization tactics are centered on equity and meet community-specific needs.”

Working closely with the White House and Department of Health and Human Services, Made to Save focuses on communities disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus, where access to vaccination sites and information is often limited. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vaccination rate among white people is almost twice as high as the rate of both Hispanic and Black people. Campaign priorities are to increase access to the vaccines in communities of color, address vaccination concerns and encourage people to get vaccinated when it is their turn. Those who know someone who has been vaccinated are 40 percent more likely to say they will get a vaccine as soon as they can.

“COVID-19 Community Corps members like the Made to Save Coalition understand how communities of color have been devastated by this pandemic,” said U.S. COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Chair Dr. Marcella Nunez Smith, MD, MHS. “That’s why Made to Save’s work to increase access to vaccination sites, provide accurate information and boost confidence in COVID-19 vaccines in communities hit hardest by this pandemic will be critical in helping our country defeat this virus.”

Made to Save also will provide grants to trusted community-based organizations for organizing outreach programs and partner with local leaders in more than 30 states to increase access to the vaccines. The campaign will use the most up-to-date research and data to inform these outreach efforts and grassroots organizing to identify community-specific needs to reach those impacted by health disparities and least likely to get vaccinated.

Made to Save is a Civic Nation initiative, an umbrella to six initiatives seeking to drive change in America through education, conversations and action. Civic Nation brings together these changemakers to reach their common goal of creating a more equitable America.

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ABOUT MADE TO SAVE

Made to Save is national public education and grassroots mobilization effort on a mission to build trust in the COVID-19 vaccines, and increase access and promote equity for Black, Indigenous, and people of color whose health and safety have been especially impacted by the ongoing pandemic. The campaign works with a variety of corporate, non-profit, labor and healthcare partners to achieve its mission. Learn more here.

ABOUT CIVIC NATION