A coalition of Santa Barbara County education and health care leaders recently announced a campaign to “save lives, reduce the transmission of COVID-19, reopen more businesses and schools, and maintain access to vital health care.”
County Deputy Health Officer and Masked and Mighty coalition leader Dr. Peggy Dodds said the group is made up of educators and health care providers from across the county.
“It reaches into all our communities in Santa Barbara County, including local people, local imagery, and locally developed communications on why we wear masks and take safety precautions to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate,” Dodds said during an Oct. 27 press conference. “We’re really focused on the power of following the recommendations that will decrease the spread of this virus.”
Dr. Dan Brennan, a Sansum Clinic pediatrician and one of the project’s initiators, said the campaign will “reinforce three easy things that we can do every single day that will help to get our COVID infection rates even lower than they are.”
Consistent with the county Public Health Department’s messaging, those actions are staying home as much as possible, avoiding large gatherings, and wearing a face mask as well as physical distancing. But what’s new about the Masked and Mighty campaign is its marketing and educational outreach elements.
First, the coalition is launching a “robust positive messaging campaign,” Brennan said, including brightly colored, bilingual advertising that features images of local people doing fun activities in a safe manner and with masks on.
The second element is “powering up Santa Barbara County,” a symbolic action from Oct. 27 to Nov. 7 where “superpowers” from across the county will light up landmark buildings with bright, multicolored lights “to highlight our community’s commitment to reduce the transmission of COVID-19,” Brennan said.
“Rather than use a single color, our coalition decided to power up using multiple colors because we are a diverse community and we’re looking forward to a bright future together,” Brennan added.
The coalition is encouraging all businesses to join in, and it already has “powering up” commitments from Cottage Health, the Sansum Clinic, CenCal Health, and Orcutt schools, among others. The coalition encourages residents to swap out their front porch lights for colorful bulbs for a chance to be featured on the initiative’s social media channels.
While this portion of the campaign is slated to last until Nov. 7, the Masked and Mighty initiative is set to continue well into the new year as the county continues to regain control of the virus’s spread.
“Not only will these efforts prevent COVID-19 from regaining a strong foothold in our community again, but it will help us prevent influenza and other respiratory viruses from causing illness, missed school and work, and time spent in the doctor’s office and hospitals,” Cottage Health’s Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons said at the press conference. “Now is the time to commit, and stay Masked and Mighty.”
