The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which hands out government funds for noncommercial media, is awarding more than a quarter million dollars in emergency grants to help combat COVID-19 misinformation.
According to CPB, it is awarding $275,000--up to $20,000 apiece--to 14 stations, TV and radio, in areas with the potentially deadly combination of high infection and low vaccination rates, or areas where hotspots appear to be emerging.
"General managers of stations serving America’s communities that are hard hit by the pandemic are committed to breaking through the cycle of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and are providing information that is saving lives,” said CPB president Patricia Harrison. “CPB is committed to funding their work as part of our stewardship and mission.”
The money will go to multiplatform PSA campaigns and community outreach efforts, on platforms including on-air, texts and TikTok videos.
CPB is a founding partner of the COVID Collaborative.
The Biden administration is urging the unvaccinated to get vaccines and the vaccinated to, eventually, get booster shots as the delta variant drives infections and hospitalizations in a second surge of the virus.
