https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/08/18/baltimore-city-covid-vaccine-memes/8123916002
The city of Baltimore wanted to meet people where they were to provide COVID-19 vaccination information, so they turned to social media and used memes, ones that feature hilarious conversations while debunking myths.
And in the last few weeks, the city’s messages have gone viral with a positive outcome , according to Adam Abadir, director of communications for the Baltimore City Health Department.
“We can be authentic, we can be funny and we can reach people who we wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise,” Abadir said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the health department used more standard communications to get the information out about COVID-19, vaccinations and harm reduction principles.
After social media users reached out with questions on how to communicate safety principles with friends and family, members of the health department were scratching their heads – until a viral moment set off the light bulb.
In January, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott garnered media attention when he told a man, “Shorty, pull your mask up, man.”
Video of the incident set social media ablaze, and suddenly the health department had a new strategy.
“I remember walking around the city and hearing people say ‘Shorty, pull your mask up,'” Abadir said. “To me, it meant if we could be authentic in our communications but also slide in a creative way to residents about harm reduction principles.”
A lot of the conversations used in the memes were conversations the health department knew people were having, according to Benjamin Jancewicz, a consultant for the department.
“[Residents] were dealing with friends and members who were going out to parties and other things they shouldn’t be doing but didn’t have the language to communicate the harms, so we turned some of those into memes,” He said.
The memes feature people debating on going to a house party or getting mimosas and also tap into some common misconceptions about what will help or what will hurt you.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159263819050642&set=a.178094880641&ref=embed_POST
The first memes when out in early April or late May, with the department doing a new one every couple of weeks. Some of them have been shared in the same post which has really been making an impact, according to Abadir.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive, but there have been a few trolls,” he said.
In response to one troll who said their keto diet, full of kale salads, was keeping them COVID-19 free, the department turned it into a meme.
“The way we have been engaging with trolls is by showing how ridiculous they are, but that kind of humor disarms them,” Jancewicz said. “We’ve had multiple instances where we’ve been confronted with trolls, and they say, ‘That’s really funny.'”
Other cities have utilized different tactics, like the Los Angeles Dodgers who are offering two free game vouchers to those who attend their mobile vaccination clinic during a seven-game homestand.
The state of Louisiana partnered with businesses to provide free alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks to people who can prove they were vaccinated within the last seven days, according to the National Governors Association.
For Baltimore, Abadir hopes the memes will make people laugh but also will be shared friends and family members who aren’t vaccinated.
“Memes are the language of the internet, and we need to be a part of that conversation,” Abadir said. “Not everyone is going to laugh at every joke, but what we are talking about is really important for people to hear.”
There is no way for the department to know if the memes are directly tied to people getting vaccinated, but Baltimore’s increase in residents getting the vaccine is consistently one of the highest in Maryland, according to Abadir.
“We want to acknowledge that the stakes are really high,” Abadir said. “We are humbled by the attention we get online, but the work continues.”
Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.