The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues (which publishes The Rural Blog) and the Kentucky Press Association have won a $25,000 grant to increase acceptance of coronavirus vaccinations in Kentucky, Meg Mills reports for the University of Kentucky.
From an application by the UK-based institute, KPA received one of 27 grants chosen by the Kentucky Association of Health Plans, the trade association representing health insurers in the state. The grants provide up to $25,000 for efforts to boost coronavirus vaccine rates through "outreach, communication, education, training, transportation and/or support," Mills reports.
Al Cross, director of the institute, said the grant will help Kentucky newspapers — especially those in counties with low vaccination rates — publish special sections, which will be mailed to every household in the newspaper's home county, about the importance of immunizations in general.
"Community newspapers continue to reach a large percentage of Kentucky households, and national surveys show such papers enjoy a high level of trust among their readers," Cross said. Cynthiana Democrat editor Becky Barnes provides an excellent example: Early in the pandemic, she arranged for a special edition to be mailed to every household in the county to educate readers.
"UK Cooperative Extension Service is also supporting and partnering with IRJCI and KPA on the project. Natalie Jones, a UK extension specialist, has produced a story about vaccination that the team will offer to newspapers as the lead article for their special sections," Mills reports. "Additional material will come from the institute’s Kentucky Health News and the community newspapers’ own reporting and photography."
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