US turns to social media influencers to boost vaccine rates

It’s part of a growing US state- and city-based movement using local social media influencers to reach the most vaccine-hesitant at a neighbourhood level. — AP

DENVER: As a police sergeant in a rural town, Carlos Cornejo isn’t the prototypical social media influencer. But his Spanish-language Facebook page with 650,000 followers was exactly what Colorado leaders were looking for as they recruited residents to try to persuade the most vaccine-hesitant.

Cornejo, 32, is one of dozens of influencers, ranging from busy moms and fashion bloggers to African refugee advocates and religious leaders, getting paid by the state to post vaccine information on a local level in hopes of stunting a troubling summer surge of Covid-19.