TV advert launched urging public to get Covid-19 vaccine
The 60-second advert will make its debut during Emmerdale on ITV on Monday night.
A TV advert will form part of a Government campaign urging people aged 50 and under to get their Covid-19 vaccine.
The ad showcases the health workers and volunteers involved in the rollout across the UK, as well as some of the millions of people who have already had their jab.
The campaign – called “every vaccination gives us hope” – will also run across radio, multi-cultural media, social media and on billboards across Manchester, Liverpool and London.
The 60-second advert, which will make its debut during Emmerdale on ITV on Monday at 7.15pm, will feature a cover of Dinah Washington’s What a Difference a Day Makes recorded by songwriter and artist Shells.
The song will be released to the public through streaming services on Friday.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the campaign will predominantly be aimed at people under the age of 50 who will be offered their first dose, as well as the over 50s who are booked in for their second dose, to encourage vaccine uptake.
The department said the campaign also aims to highlight the “significant” role the vaccine is playing in preventing infections, hospital admissions and deaths, and will urge the public to get their facts about vaccines from trusted sources like NHS.UK and their GP so they can make informed and evidence-based decisions.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Vaccines are helping us get back to doing the things we have missed – they protect you and those around you.
“This campaign is a remarkable and poignant reminder of everything we’ve been through as a country and everything we have to look forward to – as well as the tireless efforts of our volunteers, NHS heroes and the British people.
“Every vaccination gives us hope and I urge everyone to take up the offer of a vaccine when it comes, as we continue on the path back to normality.”
Thor Porter, 32, a drummer and graphic designer from Salisbury who also appeared in the ad, said: “I feel the vaccine rollout is key to regaining some form of normality. As a musician, it will hopefully enable venues to reopen and ensure a future in my career.
“My mother was an NHS nurse her whole life and then became a school nurse, carrying out mass vaccinations across schools, and I know that she would be fully behind this rollout if she were here today. That’s why I was keen to get my vaccine.
“At the end of the day, if we all want to be with our loved ones again then we need to do our bit. We have stayed inside for long enough, let’s get out and get vaccinated.”
The British Medical Association (BMA) said it welcomed the campaign, with BMA GP committee chairman Dr Richard Vautrey saying: “Since the rollout of the programme the BMA has strongly encouraged everyone who is offered a vaccine to take it.
“It’s important that younger and less vulnerable people don’t confuse their lower risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus with no risk.
“We are all at risk of contracting the virus and, as we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, becoming seriously ill from it, including a growing number of people, both young and old, now suffering from long Covid.
“The fact is the pandemic will not be over for anyone until it is over for everyone – and to achieve that we need high uptake across all groups of people throughout the entire country.”
Over the weekend, figures confirmed more than half of the UK’s total population has received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Government data up to April 24 shows that of the 46,253,754 jabs given in the UK so far, 33,666,638 were first doses – a rise of 142,215 on the previous day.
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Hancock said he is thrilled the uptake among everyone aged 50 and above is over 95%.
Vaccine hesitancy in Britain is highest among 16 to 29-year-olds, according to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
An ONS survey carried out in February and March found some 12% of people in this age group said they had declined the vaccine, were unlikely to have the jab if offered or did not know if they would have a vaccination.
This is the equivalent of around 1.2 million people, based on the weighted population figures used in the ONS survey.
Hesitancy was 9% among those aged 30 to 49 – the equivalent of 1.6 million people.
The DHSC said 22.8% of the UK adult population have now received both doses of a vaccine, with 45.5 million vaccines administered overall.
The department said that since the Government and NHS published its vaccine uptake plan in February, the take-up of vaccinations from people of all ethnic minority backgrounds has tripled.
It said uptake among people from a Pakistani background is more than four times higher than it was in February while there has been a five-fold increase in people taking up the vaccine from a Bangladeshi background.
