Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore — and Tucker, Maryland’s squirmy first dog — appeared this week in the first of a series of from the state’s health department designed to encourage parents and caregivers to make sure their children are up-to-date on their back-to-school vaccinations. Although the Maryland Department of Health typically promotes similar advice to families each fall, the video — posted Thursday on the health department’s social media pages — signifies the start to a larger-than-usual push, health department spokesperson Chase Cook said in an email. “We want to encourage folks to get vaccinated early in life, and later when they may need more targeted doses such as flu and COVID-19,” Cook said.
“These immunizations are also critical for children enrolling and staying in schools.” The campaign, planned to also feature videos starring State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright, Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott and other providers, is being funded by a $1.
8 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The campaign will run through August on the state health department’s YouTube, Nextdoor, Twitter and other social media platforms, then continue throughout the respiratory season to promote treatments and vaccinations for respiratory syncytial virus, as well as updated flu and COVID shots, which are expected to land in doctors’ offices and pharmacies in the fall. Vaccination numbers lagged during the coronavirus.