Meet the group of Philadelphia teens fighting to stop COVID vaccine misinformation
Children will be heading back to school in the next couple of weeks. But those under 17 years old are the least vaccinated of any eligible age group able to receive a COVID vaccine. Teenagers like 17-year-old Angely Keosann are taking it upon themselves to encourage their age group to get vaccinated.
Keosann is one of 27 "Philly Teen VAXX Ambassadors" — teenagers who volunteered through the Philadelphia school district to educate their peers about the vaccine.
For Keosann, the mission is personal after her entire family got COVID. "There's a lot of false information out there, especially with social media being around. So that's where Philly Teen VAXX comes in. We're there to spread real information, let them know what's up," she told CBS News' Adriana Diaz.
The group's tag line: "We provide the facts, so you can get the vax." The ambassadors — including 17-year-old Keren Abraham and 13-year-old Devon Hester — organize events, canvas neighborhoods, and on social media try to debunk vaccine rumors.
"The main ones we've definitely heard were the magnet one, which was very popular on TikTok. Basically, it's like you get the vaccine, and you can stick the magnet to where you got your shot," Abraham said.
Most teens CBS News spoke to at one of the VAXX Ambassador events were hesitant. Dr. Sage Myers, who runs community vaccinations for the children's hospital of Philadelphia, said social media memes and threads had been a detriment to teens getting the vaccine, but the program has found a way to counter the negative with their positive messages.
"I think the teenagers like everyone else have seen all of the sort of memes that have gone out, and then the videos, and sometimes they're just a little afraid in general of have of getting a shot," Myers said. "That's one of the reasons the Philly Teen VAXX Ambassadors have been amazing. Just having that peer with them has really made a huge difference."