I’ve got a secret to tell you. All those “I voted” stickers you see on election day? Those aren’t your reward for voting. You might really, really love stickers, but they actually serve to make you a walking billboard for democracy. Those stickers remind everyone you see that they, too, should vote. They both reflect voting as a community value and create a community value around the activity of voting. And we hope, as more and more people see those little stickers popping up around them, they make the effort to cast their ballot.
We can do the same thing for vaccines. We can encourage others to vaccinate without arguing about the value of vaccines or lecturing others about them. We can create communities that see vaccinating as a shared, common value. Communities that know that preventing disease requires team-work, and immunization is the way we all pitch in. We can show how common vaccinating is, and get our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family members to take pride in how they have created a healthier world for their children and for people they don’t even know.
And all it takes is a band-aid and a camera.
Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, wherever you post your selfies and photos can become they place where you tell others that you vaccinated. Add a hashtag to let others know you #fightflu or #preventcancer or just that you want to say #whyivax. Go to these hashtags, and give people a bigger audience by commenting, “Thank you for vaccinating,” or share them on your own social media.
If you really want to do something great, share your photo with us so we can post it on our Why I Choose gallery! These photos have become increasingly popular, being viewed and shared as a way of encouraging others to vaccinate.
And like the I Voted stickers do not require you to state your political orientation, sharing your vaccine selfies does not mean you have to get into a debate about vaccines. Say someone leaves an angry, bitter comment. You know? It’s your space. Delete it. Make your positive encouragement as positive as you’d like it to be.
Start now by sharing this post along with a photo of you during or just after vaccination.
