News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan

Health department turns to social media influencers for vaccine promotion

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Parents and tech companies are both struggling with how to handle underage kids using social media apps.
Rick Bowmer

In the 10 months the COVID-19 vaccine has been available to kids ages 12 and up, the state health department has been paying social media influencers to promote the shot.

Other states have been trying influencer campaigns too, with the hope that if you're a vaccine skeptic, maybe hearing from someone you admire or feel like you have a relationship with online will be more convincing than a health official.

Moms, especially, are a key audience the state's been trying to convince, since they make most of the family health decisions, a state spokesperson says.

So the health department will pay people with big online followings to post about getting their kids vaccinated or the safety of the vaccine.

So far, the state's spent more than 200-thousand federal dollars on the influencer campaign.

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