(TheDailyHorn.com) – In 2021, President Joe Biden did virtually anything he could to prod people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, including implementing vaccination mandates. Still, do you remember seeing or hearing advertisements on television, radio, or the web promoting the vaccines? If so, they were government-funded, and often they aired on media outlets friendly to COVID vaccines.
In spring 2020, Congress provided $1 billion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen confidence in vaccines among Americans and increase vaccination rates. The Department of Health and Human Services paid for advertising on hundreds of media outlets that were already promoting COVID-19 vaccines.
HHS paid media to advertise COVID vax as outlets gave positive coverage | Just The News https://t.co/PWbL2UNGsJ
— Just the News (@JustTheNews) March 9, 2022
Some of the major media outlets included ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsmax. In addition, hundreds of local television, radio, and websites also aired the ads.
Some are expressing concern that the media was involved in spreading state-sponsored messaging about the vaccines. Despite the government’s effort to influence Americans to get vaccinated, it might not have worked.
Several polls found that as 2021 went along, people either didn’t change their minds or became more concerned. Rasmussen said in August, 26% said they weren’t confident in the vaccines. By December, 54% of likely voters expressed concerns that the vaccines had harmful side effects.
So, did a government-paid ad influence you?
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