CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new public service announcement premiered Thursday aimed at encouraging Kanawha County residents to get vaccinated for the coronavirus.
Filmanatix, a Charleson-based production team, filmed the two-minute video around West Virginia’s capital city. The advertisement will be shown on local television stations and social media as local officials look to get young people interested in vaccinating themselves.
The Kanawha County Commission premiered the video during Thursday’s commission meeting.
“Your creative efforts will make a difference,” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said.
The video features multiple people from local businesses and organizations, including Dr. Sherri Young, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s executive director and health officer.
“We didn’t do anything that had politicians in there,” Carper noted. “What we did is we went to local businesses through the Chamber of Commerce. We didn’t identify them because we didn’t think that was right.”
Young applauded the public service announcement, noting the share of cases involving young people.
“We appreciate the work of the Kanawha County Commission, City of Charleston, Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority, and Filmanatix in producing a PSA so that we can encourage the younger generation to be vaccinated,” she said in a statement. “Vaccination is the only way to end this pandemic.”
Filmanatix filmed the Charleston Police Department’s Lip Sync Challenge video in July 2018, which garnered 2.3 million views on Facebook within a month.