With a Message of Hope and Unity, the Pope and Six Cardinals and Archbishops from North, Central and South America are Featured in a New PSA Reaching Global Audiences

News Release from Ad Council, August 18, 2021

NEW YORK, NY, August 18, 2021 – To continue increasing confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines, specifically in communities disproportionately affected by the virus, the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative today announced a new PSA featuring Pope Francis and six Cardinals and Archbishops from North, Central and South America. Representing the first ever Ad Council campaign designed for and distributed to a global audience, messaging in the video is delivered in English, Spanish and Portuguese to reach communities worldwide, reminding viewers that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and save lives. The new creative, made in cooperation with the Vatican's Dicastery for Integral Human Development, is a part of the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s groundbreaking COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative.

"Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19," Pope Francis says in the PSA. "Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love. I pray to God that each one of us can make his or her own small gesture of love, no matter how small, love is always grand."

Recent data shows that the United States has more progress to make with COVID-19 vaccinations in the country. Currently 72% of the American adult population and 67% of Hispanic adults have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with at least one dose. Worldwide, COVID-19 cases are on the rise, especially across North, Central and South America in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Peru where rates of individuals fully vaccinated range from only 5.5% (Honduras) to 30% (El Salvador). Though access to vaccines continues to be a challenge, confidence in the vaccines also presents a hurdle.

AJR: Pope Francis and bishops appear in new vaccine PSA: Getting vaccinated is ‘an act of love’

CB: The Pope Says Getting Vaccinated Is An 'Act of Love.'

Meanwhile: Trump Tells Crowd: 'Take the Vaccines'