Vaccine mascots: The strange and strange personalities who promote coronavirus vaccines around the world

These days, Zé Gotinha’s smile is sometimes hidden behind a face mask. But the letter confirms that vaccines are not a cause for fear. Heidi Larson, director of the Vaccine Trust Project at the London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine, said the mascot has a long history in public health campaigns around the world. “It makes it seem less clinical, less government-driven, and less,” Larson said, unlike government that often takes “government education” vaccination programs. “You have to take this on,” she said. “It can get all ages involved.” Other campaigns are not forgotten due to the impact of trauma.A few years ago, the male cancer awareness campaign in the UK launched its spell – called Mr. Testicles – aimed at reducing social stigma around the disease, and Larson said the coronavirus pandemic was a period of “interesting innovation and creativity” On public health. Messages because of their global appeal. “I don’t think vaccines have had the opportunity to demonstrate their value beyond health as it is now,” she said. “It’s a tough time and a downtime. I think something to get a little bit of personality, humor and humanity in it – we need it. Some of the personalities in circulation are not specific to the Coronavirus, such as the happy cartoon child who was Clalit, the largest figure in Israel. Health services organizations, used in their messages before the spread of the epidemic, and are now affixed to their posters and vaccination cards, and other mascots were visible signs of the epidemic Since its inception, the campaigns have included figures such as Coronon, the Japanese mascot to combat the Coronavirus – and Covid-Kun, which is a red-slit bubble directed towards teaching children about the virus, and this phenomenon has been particularly evident in Asian countries, especially Japan, where There is already a thriving mantra culture, Larson said, one of the challenges on social media is that the mascot in one context can appear inappropriate in another – like some iterations of Brazil’s Zé Gotinha that might conjure to an American audience images of Ku Klux Klan’s signature dress. An incomprehensible advertisement issued by the Ministry of Health promoting coronavirus precautions – where a winged figure called “Covid, Cupid’s half-brother” describes herself as from Wuhan, China – angered Chinese officials in August and February. Finally, Larson said: “The best principle is to share it with the audiences you are trying to reach.” Shira Rubin contributed to this report from Israel.