Just over a month from the holiday season, Quebec is betting on the Christmas spirit to stimulate vaccination against COVID-19, in a new advertising offensive that will be broadcast until December 18 on various communication channels.
A Santa Claus running towards the camera, surrounded by elves, fairies, children in festively colored pajamas and several other traditional characters: this is the setting staged by the Legault government in its new advertising campaign “playful” which was unveiled with great fanfare this Wednesday, in particular via the Twitter account of Prime Minister François Legault.
“The holidays are coming fast. Get vaccinated now to be protected in time”, concludes the said capsule, embellished with a revisited song by Beethoven, a classic of the Holiday season.
In a press release, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) argued Wednesday that “this new advertising offensive, which will continue until December 18, also includes placements on the radio, on the Web and in written media”. “This is a first step. A second phase of the campaign focusing more on health measures and good actions to adopt is also planned.
Currently, taking into account the fact that Public Health now recommends getting vaccinated after five months, approximately 24.9% of Quebecers have a vaccination record that is considered up-to-date. This represents an increase of one point in the last seven days.
On Tuesday, Health and Social Services Minister Christian Dubé posted a photo of himself getting a booster dose. “I urge you to do the same to get adequate protection in time for the holiday season. Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and others,” he said.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Dubé insisted. “We don’t want to have the perfect storm. This is why we are asking Quebecers to act upstream and protect themselves as much as possible to limit the combined effect of these three viruses, ”he mentioned, referring to the influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), particularly present in the community today.