Alex McDonald, MD, discusses #ThisIsOurShot vaccine awareness campaign on AMA video panel

Alex McDonald, MD, recently joined the American Medical Association (AMA) COVID-19 Update video series to share insights on the grassroots #ThisIsOurShot vaccine campaign, a social media movement aimed at elevating the voices of physicians and other health care workers to get people vaccinated for COVID-19.

Dr. McDonald, a family and sports medicine physician with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, co-founded the #ThisIsOurShot campaign to help build vaccine trust and empower doctors, clinicians, nurses, and health care staff to spread accurate information in their communities.

“Our job is to help train and educate those health care heroes so they can go out and talk to their networks,” Dr. McDonald said.

He added that building vaccine trust is not a “one-size-fits-all approach” and individual outreach is key. Accordingly, it’s critical to ask questions to see what’s driving vaccine hesitancy and address those concerns while dispelling misinformation.

When asked how he is motivating patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. McDonald referenced leading by example and acting in the best interests of your family and community at large.

“It’s our shot to get back to our normal life, to protect our communities, and to protect ourselves,” he said.

Dr. McDonald added that he’s inspired by the positivity that has surrounded the #ThisIsOurShot campaign, highlighting how the medical community has come together during a challenging time.

“This is really a campaign about being positive and ignoring the negative,” he said. “A lot of bad things have happened this past year, but we’re just taking where we are and moving forward.”

For more information on #ThisIsOurShot, visit the campaign pages on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Watch the full ADA COVID Daily Update below.