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Presented with the opportunity to be a part of history, Chelsea Stern signed up to join the new student organization Get Shot Done as a co-account manager.

Get Shot Done wants to create change on campus with a social media campaign to boost student confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine. The organization wants students who are hesitant about the vaccine to know that it’s not something to be afraid of and that it will help the world get back to normal.

“We’re just Syracuse students trying to reach other Syracuse students,” said Stern, a Syracuse University junior.

The communications firm Real Chemistry reached out to Hill Communications, a student-run public relations organization through the Newhouse School of Public Communications, and TNH Advertising Agency to boost vaccine confidence. Hill Communications and TNH decided to start the campaign together around January.

The organization doesn’t have anything to do with the distribution of vaccines and instead focuses on educating people and creating awareness through creating fun content, Stern said.

Get Shot Done is also conducting research throughout the semester with surveys and focus groups to gauge student sentiment about the vaccine and provide insight into their experiences. The research will help their campaign dispel myths and obtain a better sense of what students want to see.

“We want this campaign to be a strong open dialogue between students to understand their perceptions of the vaccine, understand what we’re doing well, maybe what students want to see from us,” Jesse Nadelman, Hill Communications firm director and SU senior.

(L to R) Ava Travella, Chelsea Stern, Rachel Kanter and Jesse Nadelman plan to run Get Shot Done through the rest of the semester, but they believe it could last longer than that. Wendy Wang | Staff Photographer

Get Shot Done’s Instagram page is currently its main way of communicating with students. The page contains posts from infographics to memes, such as a joke about University of Houston students not wearing masks. The organization also shares local and national updates related to the pandemic on their Instagram story regularly.

To Nadelman, communication coming from students is more effective and resonates more with other students, as connecting in a casual language will be more understandable.

Get Shot Done also provides useful information for students who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. On Tuesday, the organization posted an update on their Instagram story about New York State’s recent expansion of vaccine eligibility to residents over 16 years old beginning April 6.

“We’re all in this together, and this vaccine is really our pathway out,” Nadelman said.

Get Shot Done is planning for the campaign to run throughout this semester but could potentially last longer.

Ava Travella, an SU senior and the co-account manager of Get Shots Done, hopes this chapter doesn’t end with this semester. It’s important to make sure that even after someone receives the vaccine, they’re still being safe, she said.

“While we miss our old college experience, we really need to work together to try to create a new normal and get back to as close as what it used to be,” Travella said. “And that’s not going to happen unless we all try to be as safe as possible and get vaccinated as soon as you’re able to.”

Published on March 30, 2021 at 10:11 pm