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Australians will be urged to “Arm Yourself” against COVID-19 and get the jab, as the federal government launches a major revamped COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday to help plot a path out of the global pandemic.
Doctors groups such as the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners have been calling for the ad campaign to be reset for some time, amid concerns about rising vaccine hesitancy in the community because of changing medical advice over extremely rare blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine for under 60s.
The new Australian Government advertising campaign for vaccination against COVID-19 launches Sunday.
The current campaign has also been criticised from sections of the advertising industry for being boring and unemotional, especially compared to campaigns in other countries such as the UK, Singapore and New Zealand.
The new $41 million campaign will blitz TV, radio, newspapers, online and outside display advertising and replace the current campaign fronted by former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth. Culturally and linguistically diverse communities, which in some cases have shown higher rates of vaccine hesitancy, will be a particular focus of the campaign.
The “Arm Yourself” theme – coming soon after Lieutenant-General John Frewen was appointed co-ordinator of the Operation COVID Shield vaccine campaign by the federal government – will likely provoke community debate.
Previews of the advertisements seen by The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald show ordinary Australians displaying band aids on their arms after receiving a vaccination and will variously urge people to “arm yourself”, “arm your community”, “arm your family”, “arm your family” and even to “arm your gran”.
Getting the vaccine is “your best defence and our only way forward. Now’s the time to arm yourself, your family, your friends, your work mates and your community” the ads state.
The new Australian Government advertising campaign for vaccination against COVID-19 launches Sunday.
General Frewen said last month that the new ad campaign had been delayed because of the lack of supply of Pfizer vaccines in Australia for under 60s. But with the number of Pfizer doses arriving in Australia will finally ramping up to one million per week from July 19, and up to about 1.2 million per week in August, the campaign is now ready to launch.
“This is the next phase of the communications campaign to encourage Australians to get vaccinated, to protect themselves, their loved ones and the wider community,” he said.
“There’s strong demand among Australians to get vaccinated, but I do ask you to be patient when making a booking. You may have to wait while we get the most vulnerable groups vaccinated first. This is the next phase and there will be further stages as the campaign evolves to match the rollout of the vaccine.”
“We are working as hard as we can to ensure every Australian who wants one will get a vaccine by the end of the year. Test, trace, isolate, now it’s time to vaccinate. It’s been a tough time for everyone, but I know we can get through this.
“So roll up your sleeve and get the jab. Together we can get this done in 2021.”
The campaign, put together by agency BMF, will roll out in 36 languages and will be revised again by the end of the year.
Australia passed the nine million doses delivered mark on Saturday and more than 70 per cent of over 70s and 55 per cent of over 50s have had one jab.
However, just over 10 per cent of the country has been fully vaccinated and Australia lags badly behind countries such as the UK, Singapore, US and many EU states in its vaccination rates.
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