Medicine Hat launched a campaign on Aug. 17 to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. (Photo Courtesy Derek Brade)

By Chris Brown

Medicine Hat vaccination campaign ads now on billboards, Facebook

Aug 25, 2021 | 7:16 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – One week ago as active COVID-19 cases in Medicine Hat neared 500, the City of Medicine Hat announced a campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated.

The digital-focused campaign was targeted at a specific demographic.

“Within Medicine Hat, the majority of cases are coming from a specific age group and that’s roughly around 20-40 years old. So fairly slim age group there,” said Merrick Brown, the city’s director of emergency management.

“Second piece of this, the majority of cases within this age group are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.”

Advertisements are running on 10 electronic billboards in the city and along the highway and are appearing in people’s Facebook feeds.

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The campaign, supported by Alberta Health Services, started on Aug. 17.

At that time, 48.2 per cent of Hatters in the target 20-40 age group were fully vaccinated. That’s up to 49.3 per cent as of Tuesday, Aug. 24.

That remains the provincial average for the age group, which is 57.5 per cent.

The city’s campaign will run until Sept. 10.