From [HERE] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the CDC Foundation, funded a toolkit to train community-based organizations on how to hire influencers to combat “vaccine myths” in communities of color.

The CDC Foundation’s donor list includes the World Health Organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and vaccine makers including Pfizer, Merck and Johnson & Johnson.

The toolkit, first rolled out in 2022, is part of a suite of resources created by the CDC’s Partnering for Vaccine Equity Program (P4VE), which targets ethnic and racial minority communities to increase vaccine uptake by funding “partnerships” with the CDC.

P4VE’s Vaccine Resource Hub is funded through a grant for over $80 million from the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It includes toolkits, unbranded digital materials and messaging in over 50 languages.

Community organizations can use the “Influencer Guide” to help them contact influencers who can spread the organizations’ messages in the influencers’ own voices.

The guide suggests targeting mid-level influencers — those who aren’t overly famous and who are preferably “self-made” — because they’re often seen as more relatable and trusted than large brands or celebrities on social media.

These influencers can effectively act as messengers with a wide reach to promote vaccination in racial and ethnic minority communities.

To maximize their online influence, the guide recommends community organizations first identify suitable candidates with a relevant background and who haven’t made “inappropriate” posts in the past.

Once they’ve identified the right influencers, organizations can ask influencers to partner with them to spread their message about, for example, the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for people in marginalized communities. [MORE]