CDC Foundation Launches Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

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Sep 14, 2023, 11:03 ET

ATLANTA, Sept. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The CDC Foundation today announced a new national campaign "Pregnant & Protected" to inform people planning to get pregnant, currently pregnant or breastfeeding on the importance of staying up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination. With the updated COVID-19 vaccines becoming available this week, this campaign highlights the critical need to protect pregnant women and their babies from COVID-19.

While the public health emergency has ended, COVID-19 continues to pose a higher risk for women who are pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding. Vaccination rates among pregnant women remain low, particularly among Black and Hispanic/Latin women. Studies have shown the COVID-19 vaccinations are effective in reducing severe disease outcomes, including hospitalizations and death. Given the elevated risk of illness and complications that can harm both the pregnant person and their baby, it is important for people planning to get pregnant, currently pregnant or breastfeeding to stay current with their COVID-19 vaccines.

To inform the new national campaign, which has a specific focus on Black and Hispanic/Latin women, the CDC Foundation gathered input from vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant, previously pregnant or postpartum women to understand their sentiments regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and tested various messaging concepts and platforms.

The digital campaign features both people sharing stories about their COVID-19 illness as well as people sharing why they made the choice to get vaccinated. These stories speak to the feelings of uncertainty, distrust and fear around COVID-19 vaccines, and how they got to a place of vaccine confidence.

"It's important to educate women on how to keep themselves and their baby safe against COVID-19," said Judy Monroe, MD, president and CEO, CDC Foundation. "We understand the value and importance of incorporating input from women with similar shared experiences into this campaign and showcasing their stories. Our goal is to provide clear and accurate information so women can be empowered to make an informed decision."

Pregnant & Protected is a two-month campaign that includes public service announcements, social media engagement, webinars and a resource-filled website. Women, community-based organizations and healthcare providers will find educational resources on the website including posters, fact sheets, digital banners, animated videos, sharable social media posts and frequently asked questions. With this week's news of FDA and CDC approval of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, the campaign will add additional resources in the coming weeks pertaining to the new vaccine.

To learn more about the Pregnant & Protected campaign, visit www.pregnantandprotected.org or email [email protected].

The Pregnant and Protected campaign is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $850,000 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

About the CDC Foundation

The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC's critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $2 billion and launched more than 1,300 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of CDC-led programs in the United States and in more than 90 countries last year. Learn more at www.cdcfoundation.org.

SOURCE CDC Foundation