Did you know that approximately 78 percent of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Walgreens? The company operates approximately 9,021 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens interacts with approximately 8 million customers in its stores and online each day. This is a company with reach, and the brand is using its reach to help convince people to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Convince and Convert Is Now Life and Death
Walgreens is running commercials that call for people to get vaccinated. The commercials are pretty convincing, but Walgreens knows not everyone is, or will be, convinced. The brand also acknowledges that people have legitimate concerns about the vaccine and treats those who are hesitant with immense compassion.
Having practiced medicine in Plainville, Kansas, for more than 19 years, Dr. Brull understands her patients. “I absolutely empathize with and understand people who have hesitation around being vaccinated,” Dr. Brull says. “And I always want them to hear me, as their doctor, say that I think the vaccine is safe, I think it’s effective and I think it’s right for you.”
Protecting People with Good Information
Walgreens is aware that rural communities and urban communities each have pockets of hesitancy and resistance to the vaccine. The series goes there. Literally.
Going the Extra Mile … Even by Boat
Walgreens is wisely showcasing the everyday heroes that get up and get it done, no matter the challenge. And let’s realize what a challenge it is to move millions of Americans toward science and rational thought when they’re also drowning in misinformation and politainment.
It’s sad but true that many Americans would rather die, or watch others that they may have infected die, than listen to the truth about COVID or anything else, for that matter. This is the chaos we have wrought. When there is no law to regulate media, the result is noise.
It’s easy to feel anger, frustration, bewilderment, and fear. We’ve lost more than 600K Americal lives so far. Here in Texas, 3M or about one of ten people in the state have contracted COVID so far, including the governor (who now freely admits the vaccine made his case a mild case, which he’s recovering from).
Because it’s so easy to feel anger, frustration, bewilderment, and fear, I particularly like where Walgreens is coming from here. They’re helping to cool the temperature across the nation. It’s a clear leadership position and Walgreens is the right brand to lead in this troubled time.
