Stephen Parodi, MD, describes campaign to achieve 70% vaccination rate by July 4

Stephen Parodi, MD, associate executive director of The Permanente Medical Group, told Fierce Healthcare that Kaiser Permanente has launched a multifaceted campaign to support the Biden administration’s goal of a 70% national COVID-19 vaccination rate by Independence Day.

“We think you need to have different strategies for all these different groups of people,” said Dr. Parodi, Kaiser Permanente national infectious disease leader and executive vice president of The Permanente Federation. “That’s been our experience with different populations, and that’s the advantage to … the integrated health care system point-of-view. We’re seeing people in our clinics [and] our communities and we get to hear all these different stories.”

Kaiser Permanente’s newly announced COVID-19 vaccination outreach and incentive programs include $10 million in new grants to 100 schools, churches, community centers, and other organizations. Also incorporated into the campaign are an online influencer and social media campaign; member and community education; the publication of a vaccine confidence toolkit; and the “ImmUNITY” sweepstakes, which will award 1,000 prizes to vaccinated members and nonmembers.

Dr. Parodi pointed to Kaiser Permanente’s geographic reach across 8 states and Washington, DC, as both an advantage and a hurdle for the organization as it targets the July 4 goal.

“Those [areas] all have different population characteristics, and so we’re really intentional about bringing together people from each of the different areas in our footprint because what may work in California might not work in Georgia,” he said. “We need to have all those different perspectives.”

Note: Click to read the full Fierce Healthcare article, as well as coverage of Kaiser Permanente’s vaccination campaign in Becker’s Hospital Review, Healthcare Finance News, MedCity News, and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.