Minority Health Strike Force Starts ‘More Than a Mask’ Campaign

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s Minority Health Strike Force has launched a new campaign aimed slowing and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in communities of color. 

The “More Than a Mask” campaign was created in collaboration with the Us4Us Coalition and will used paid advertising and grassroots efforts. Included in the campaign is a 30-second spot that lays out its message: “If we are going to defeat COVID-19 in our community, we are going to need a mask and more.”

Nationwide, the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected people of color. Black people are 14% of Ohio’s population, but 24% of its positive COVID-19 cases, 32% of hospitalizations and 19% of deaths. And Hispanic people make up just under 4% of the state’s population but represent 6% of positive tests.

The Minority Health Strike Force was created by Gov. Mike DeWine in April to examine the reasons COVID-19 was affecting people of color more than White people, as well as broader racial inequities.

On. Aug 13, the team release its COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force Blueprint, which was followed by an executive response by DeWine shortly after.

Source: Ohio Department of Health

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.