Comeback KC Launches Campaign To Get Region Fully Vaccinated

KANSAS CITY— April 1, 2021 — The Kansas City region is in a race to get area adults vaccinated before another COVID-19 surge arrives, fueled by new virus variants and a loosening of public health restrictions.  Comeback KC is launching a regional education and communications campaign to help with that life-saving effort.

The Two Million Arms KC campaign is designed to help the Kansas City region recover from COVID-19 by providing vaccine information and encouragement to help residents protect themselves, their families, and their communities.

Two Million Arms KC will include outreach through billboards, social media, and print and broadcast advertising, as well as posters and fliers for employers; community centers; churches, synagogues, and mosques; and retailers.  The eye-catching, consumer-friendly graphic designs for the campaign were developed by Willoughby (www.willoughbydesign.com), the area’s prominent brand design firm.

“As my office and the City continue our work to ensure equitable vaccine distribution, I am proud of this effort to simplify and amplify the COVID-19 vaccine process for Kansas Citians throughout our region,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “As more folks become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, and more resources become available to receive it, the Two Million Arms KC Campaign will be working to inform and connect folks to these events and encourage them to receive their vaccines. We will continue to work on quickly and equitably connecting folks with a vaccine, so we can finally bring an end to this pandemic and begin our recovery process."

“Given the early impact of COVID-19 in Wyandotte County, and our community’s historically diverse population, we’ve initiated extensive education and outreach campaigns regarding safety protocols, testing, and vaccinations throughout the various stages of the pandemic,” said Mayor/CEO David Alvey of the Unified Government. “The Two Million Arms KC efforts complements the vaccination efforts we’ve undertaken to educate and protect our residents and our entire community, and we’re proud to partner with Comeback KC, other local governments, and various entities to promote a broader regional campaign surrounding the importance of vaccinations for everyone.”

“Vaccination is safe and effective,” according to Dr. Erin Corriveau, deputy health officer for Wyandotte County, “The faster we all get vaccinated, the faster we can move forward into a healthier, better future, together.”

Two Million Arms KC has strong support from the area’s business and civic leaders, including endorsement from the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC); BioKansas; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City (SCLC-GKC); the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; Health Forward Foundation; El Centro; Kansas City, Missouri; Johnson County; Clay County; Platte County; and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.

“Our goal is to get the word out every way we possibly can,” according to Mark Logan Communications Director for Comeback KC. “We may live in two states, many counties, and lots of different cities, but we’re all one region and we have one goal: get everyone vaccinated so we can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We also want to make sure that we proactively and meaningfully address the equity issues that have been raised by the pandemic and even by the vaccination response to date.”

“We look forward to working with the Two Million Arms KC Campaign to ensure our vaccination process is easy and accessible for all, especially for our underrepresented Black and Brown communities,” said President of Southern Christian Leadership Conference Kansas City Dr. Vernon Howard. “Continued community collaboration and outreach is key to helping our friends, families, and neighbors reach immunity from COVID-19, and this campaign is the first step of many.” 

“People of color were overrepresented with severe impacts of the virus,” according to Irene Caudillo, President and CEO of El Centro. “This campaign will provide messages in Spanish for us to use in our Latino community. The campaign will be useful for trusted community-based organizations to utilize in our effort to make sure there is equitable distribution of the vaccine in communities that were most impacted.” 

"Getting vaccinated not only protects you and the people around you," says Joe Reardon, President and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, "It's also necessary to restore the health of our businesses and our regional economy.  It's the road to recovery and a return to normalcy." 

Comeback KC has launched a new website as part of the Two Million Arms KC project, www.VaccinateKC.com, that includes information in both English and Spanish about where, how, and why residents can get their shot.  The campaign also includes a vaccination van, which is available to KC region vaccinators to help close the "last mile" of vaccination efforts. The vaccination van will be used for small, community vaccination events and even to deliver vaccines to homebound individuals. 

Vaccinate KC is an initiative of Comeback KC (www.comebackkc.com), a collection of public entities, private organizations, and individuals dedicated to helping the Kansas City region make a fast and complete recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The group works closely with area public health departments, hospital systems, FHQCs, civic organizations, and regional leaders to provide information to the public about vaccines and material support for vaccination sites and events.

The non-profit home of Comeback KC is KC Digital Drive (www.kcdigitaldrive.org). KC Digital Drive is a 501c3 non-profit organization that works to make the KC region healthier and more prosperous by leveraging technologies to address pressing social and civic problems.