There's a push to give all of us a light at the end of the tunnel as more people get the COVID-19 vaccine and to encourage more people who are hesitant to get vaccinated. The idea is for a "National Vaccine Day."
“I think that one way that this campaign can work is by making getting vaccinated fun and turn it into this positive thing that we're doing as a community. It's something that we're doing to come together,” said Keona Wynne, PhD candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Wynne, a public health student, is leading the “National Vaccine Day” campaign for advocacy group 1Day Sooner. The group is trying to get President Joe Biden to make “National Vaccine Day” a one-time federal holiday.
Wynne says there is some precedent for this. For example, after World War II, President Harry Truman declared "Victory Day" a federal holiday.
The idea is to have the “National Vaccine Day” at the end of the summer when enough people have been vaccinated to where we've reached collective immunity.
The group wants it to be a time for us to come together and reflect on what we've experienced through the pandemic, memorialize those who have died, and thank the people who have worked to keep us safe.
“My favorite thing about the vaccine holiday is I have something to look forward to. I have an event and I’m like, I need to think about what I’m going to where, how I’m going to do my hair, what’s my makeup going to be, and we haven't had that for a very long time. We haven't had any like event or social gathering to look forward to, and I think that that's powerful in itself.”
Some big names have already joined the calls for this, including four former surgeons general. They wrote a letter to President Biden.
The effort also has support from a number of scientists and a few people in the entertainment industry. 1Day Sooner is looking to get more artists, musicians, dancers and even sports teams involved.
