GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Janet Timmerman is a small-town historian who knows what her county and state went through to fight the polio epidemic in the 1950s and 60s. She sees similarities between responses to polio and COVID-19 and has drawn conclusions about how history will treat the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, Timmerman has been very public with her pro-COVID-19 vaccine sentiments. Timmerman is one of 14 Minnesotans from all around the state who are featured in videos promoting the benefits of getting vaccinated and boosted. Viewers can watch these videos by visiting https://bit.ly/3BMpnNF.
The awareness project to promote getting the COVID-19 vaccine and booster in advance of the oncoming flu season is an effort by the Minnesota Association of Area Agencies on Aging, who contracted with Pioneer PBS to create the campaign. The work was funded through a grant from the federal Older Americans Act through a grant with the Northwest Regional Development Commission under an area plan approved by the Minnesota Board on Aging. The intended audience for the campaign is older Minnesotans.
The project features several Minnesotans who are active in their communities. Timmerman was formerly the director of the Murray County Historical Society based in Slayton. Another participant was longtime County Commissioner Warren Strandell of East Grand Forks whose wife died of COVID-19 before vaccines were available. Community activist Portia Johnson of Duluth also volunteered to share her strong belief that getting vaccinated shows your consideration for other people.
Videos, radio public service announcements, newspaper ads and social media posts are all part of the statewide campaign which is rolling out at the end of September. Anyone interested in using the assets created for the campaign is welcome to share these messages. For more information, contact Patrick Moore, communications director at Pioneer PBS: pmoore@pioneer.org or 320-841-1487.
