MTV joins in promoting H1N1 vaccinations and awareness

MTV today announced a partnership with the White House and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to encourage the nation’s youth to get vaccinated for the H1N1 virus. As part of National Influenza Vaccination Week, January 10 – 17, 2010, MTV will begin rolling out a series of efforts on-air and online urging young people to protect themselves and to help stop the spread of the infectious virus.

On-air, MTV News will tag along as Jason Derulo, the hitmaker behind “Whatcha Say,” gets an H1N1 vaccination from a Chicago clinic. From MTV.com to RateMyProfessors.com to Think.MTV.com, MTV will leverage all of its online platforms to arm young people with the information they need to protect themselves and connect them to resources on flu.gov. MTV’s “It’s On: With Alexa Chung” recently focused on the issue during the show by quizzing her audience about H1N1. The quiz, available online, gives young people a fun way to test their knowledge of H1N1 and how to prevent it.

Later this month, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will host a press conference call with journalists in mtvU’s College Media Network to answer the student’s questions about the virus and encourage them to spread the word on campus. mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, will broadcast VJ hits throughout its programming calling on college students to take action, educate themselves on the disease, and find ways to protect themselves.

On the ground, MTV is working with Peer Health Exchange (PHE), a non-profit organization that empowers teens to make healthy decisions , to arm the group’s 1,200 college student volunteers with information to share with peers on how to protect themselves and stop the spread of H1N1.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly half of Americans hospitalized with H1N1 this flu season are under 25. Teens and young adults are particularly vulnerable to the H1N1 flu virus because they often live, work, and study in close proximity with lots of other people.

On Thursday, January 14, 2010 Secretary Sebelius will also attend a roundtable discussion with students and faculty at Hunter College in New York City about the importance of young people getting the H1N1 flu vaccine. For more information on this event, contact HHS Public Affairs.
To learn more about preventing H1N1 or to find a local vaccination site, head to www.flu.gov.