Flu Vaccination Digital Ambassador Initiative Flourishes in Second Year | Seasonal Influenza (Flu) | CDC 1

Flu Vaccination Digital Ambassador Initiative Flourishes in Second Year | Seasonal Influenza (Flu) | CDC

General

Kristina Duda of About.com Cold and Flu

New to the Digital Ambassador program this season but a long-time supporter of CDC’s national flu vaccination campaign is Kristina Duda of About.com Cold and Flu. Ms. Duda’s Cold and Flu posts are part of the About family of sites, one of the largest online premium publishers of expert-created content and one of the most visited sites in the United States. About.com’s experts help millions of users answer questions, solve problems, learn something new, and find inspiration. Ms. Duda, a registered nurse, is an authority on the topic of influenza.

Ms. Duda posts about cold and flu season year-round using a variety of sources. Her Digital Ambassador activities included participating in the NIVW blog relay with a post entitled “When Should You Get a Flu Vaccine?”, cross-promoting fellow Digital Ambassador’s Facebook forums, and sharing CDC’s flu vaccination information on Twitter and Facebook.

Men's Health Network

Men's Health Network (MHN), a national non-profit organization, works to reach men, boys, and their families where they live, work, play, and pray with health awareness and disease prevention messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy opportunities, and patient navigation.

MHN helped to spread the word about the importance of flu vaccination to their Twitter and Facebookfollowers and co-hosted a partner-led Twitter chat during NIVW. They also incorporated flu messaging into Twitter chats unrelated to the campaign, helped to support their fellow Digital Ambassadors, including promoting LIVESTRONG’s Facebook forum, and posted guest blog content from CDC, including, “Protect Yourself & Those You Care About: Take Time to Get a Flu Vaccine.”

VacciNews*

VacciNews provides up-to-date information to the public, media, health professionals and policy makers to help them understand the facts about vaccines and immunization. A continuing Ambassador, VacciNews was very active on social media during the early part of the flu vaccination promotional season.

VacciNews promoted CDC flu vaccination information to their followers on Twitter and Facebook as well as through blog posts such as “90% of Kids Who Died Last Flu Season Didn’t Get the Vaccine.”

1All Digital Ambassadors commit to posting about flu vaccination at least four times throughout the season—though they typically far exceed that mark—and add the Ambassador badge to their websites and/or social media profiles. Note that Digital Ambassadors are listed by audience as categorized by CDC’s flu vaccination campaign; however, these individuals and organizations often reach multiple audiences.

* Denotes Digital Ambassadors that have returned as Ambassadors for a second season.

If you would like more information about the Flu Vaccination Digital Ambassador initiative, please contact Julie Yegen at julieyegen@westat.com.