By Hannah Williams | September 20, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa —On Monday, Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) announced that its coronavirus vaccine has proven to be safe and highly effective in children ages 5 to 11. Now the question remains, how many parents will give their children this vaccine?
The need for child vaccinations has become urgent, data shows that children now account for more than one in five new cases. As the Delta variant becomes more severe, this vaccine may prove to be vital for parents.
As word gets out that the Pfizer vaccine is safe among children, Pfizer will have to deal with push back, questions/concerns, and a rise in product demand. With their main audience being parents with young children, this story could quickly turn negative.
It’s the organization’s job to create a plan and ultimately attempt to satisfy all their customers’ needs. Overall this story initially shows that Pfizer wants to keep children safe from the Delta Variant, but realistically this situation can get messy really fast.
Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds relationships between organizations and their publics (PRSA). At its core, an organization’s job is to anticipate and analyze public opinions that may negatively impact the company’s mission.
Pfizer has to utilize transparency when it comes to their vaccine, due to the fact that their can be long-term damage to their reputation if something goes array. Especially since their dealing with parents. Parents are worried about giving their children the vaccine, due to the fact that the risks associated with a vaccine that has not been F.D.A. approved, and no one really knows the long-term effects.
Polling indicates that parental willingness to vaccinate their child decreases as they get younger. Therefore it’s Pfizer’s job to market and depict their vaccine as safe and harmless to parents. This falls within the PR sector of the company. It’s PR’s responsibility is to influence and build a relationship with the public (parents) in order to frame the parent’s perception of them.
Pfizer wants this news release to be positive, and for many it will be, but for those who are unsure this information should encompass digestible and reassuring material. It’s Pfizer’s job to protect their reputation, but it also must protect its vaccine users.
PR To Do List:
- Research
- Conduct and Evaluate
- Set objectives
- Plan/Implement
- Budget
- Crisis Management Plan
In short, managing the resources needed to preform and influence the public’s opinion on the vaccine in a positive way. There are many functions within PR that Pfizer has to enact; whether that be corporate communications, executive communications, investor relations, reputation management, or even speechwriting. The important part that Pfizer has to remember throughout this process is keeping their public informed and being transparent.
In this day and age when vaccine controversy is intensifying, Pfizer has to be particularly careful with the information they put out, especially in regards to parents and their children.
For more information read the New York Times Article: Pfizer says its vaccine is safe for children 50 to 11. Will parents buy in?
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