AHN joins Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic & other top U.S. health systems for national campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine acceptance

With more than 300,000 vaccine doses administered to Western Pennsylvanians, AHN leads region’s vaccination efforts

PITTSBURGH – A coalition of 60 top hospitals and health care systems, including Allegheny Health Network (AHN), Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic, have joined forces in a nationwide campaign to encourage adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The campaign, “Get the Vaccine to Save Lives,” is designed to reassure the public that vaccines are safe, effective and necessary to achieve herd immunity and return to normal activities.

More than 213 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 51 percent of the population age 18 and over has received at least one vaccine dose in the U.S. through April 20, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of yesterday, Pennsylvania had administered first doses of vaccine to 43.4 percent of its eligible population.

AHN has been Western Pennsylvania’s leading vaccination source since mid-December, and to date has administered more than 300,000 vaccine doses to area residents – more than any other health care organization. In addition to the network’s daily hospital-based vaccination clinics, and community-based clinics for marginalized populations, AHN has held dozens of mass vaccination events at sites across the region.

“Vaccination against COVID-19 represents the clearest pathway to restoring good health and wellbeing in our communities. While AHN has played a central role in vaccinating thousands of Western Pennsylvanians, our efforts will succeed only if more people embrace being vaccinated,” said Donald Whiting, MD, AHN Chief Medical Officer. “We are excited to once again join our esteemed colleagues around the country in an effort to help bring an end to this pandemic, by urging everyone to receive the vaccine as soon as they are able.”

To achieve herd immunity and help end the pandemic, leading health officials say at least 75 percent of the population needs to receive a vaccine. Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who have been vaccinated.

The nationwide “Get the Vaccine to Save Lives” campaign, which includes print and digital advertising, media outreach, social media, an awareness video and an informational website, aims to help Americans feel safe and confident about receiving a vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the Food and Drug Administration’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.

The campaign also hopes to reach adults who are hesitant to receive a vaccine, including racial and minority ethnic groups and people living in rural communities. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published March 30, 17 percent of the public say they will take a wait-and-see approach before getting it themselves, and another 20 percent say they will never get a vaccine or will only get it if required to do so for work, school or other activities. This leaves a significant portion of the population at risk of going unvaccinated.

Led by Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, 58 other leading U.S. health care institutions have joined the campaign. They include:

AdventHealth
Adventist Health
Allegheny Health Network
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Arizona Medical Association
Ascension St. Vincent’s
Atrium Health
Banner Health
Baptist Health South Florida
Baylor Scott & White Health
Beaumont Health
BJC HealthCare
Brooks Rehabilitation
Broward Health
Centura Health
Einstein Healthcare Network
Emory Healthcare
Essentia Health
Hackensack Meridian
HonorHealth
Intermountain Healthcare
Lee Health
Mass General Brigham
McLaren St. Luke’s
MedStar Health
Memorial Healthcare System
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Mercy Health
Michigan Medicine
Monument Health
NCH Healthcare System
Nicklaus Children’s Health System
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Northwestern Medicine
Norton Healthcare
PeaceHealth
Piedmont Healthcare
ProMedica
Renown Health
Rush University Medical Center Chicago
Southwestern Health Resources
Spectrum Health
Summit Health
Texas Health
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The James Cancer Hospital
The Toledo Clinic
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
ThedaCare
UC Health (Cincinnati)
UNC Health
University Hospitals
University of Chicago Medicine
University of Iowa Health Care
UT Southwestern Medical Center
The University of Toledo Medical Center
Virtua Health
WellSpan Health
Yale New Haven Health

To schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at an upcoming AHN clinic, visit www.ahn.org/coronavirus/vaccine or call (412) DOCTORS. AHN MyChart users can log in to their account to schedule.

For more information about the campaign, visit ourshot2savelives.org.