This organization run by a Harvard University grad from Ancaster is educating thousands of students about the COVID-19 vaccine

An organization launched by a Harvard University grad from Ancaster has educated thousands of students across North America on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines.

Launched in March 2021, Students for Herd Immunity estimates it has reached about 200,000 youth through peer-to-peer education.

Students want to hear from their peers, right? They don't really want to hear from adults," said Cha Cha Yang, 24, a life sciences graduate who plans to start a joint degree in business and medicine next fall. They want to hear from their friend in choir or their teammate."

The organization has trained more than 500 student ambassadors - up from about 70 in May - at about 200 middle and high schools in 50 North American cities to pass along accurate, age-appropriate and culturally relevant information to their classrooms, clubs and communities.

This includes nine ambassadors at three Hamilton schools: Hillfield Strathallan College, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School.

The organization also has 15 ambassadors in Burlington, and has worked with students from McMaster University on various virtual events.

The student ambassadors themselves are empowered to be those leaders and be those points of contact for people with questions about vaccines," she said.

Yang, who previously worked with a team of consultants providing pricing and distribution strategies for one of the COVID-19 vaccines, now manages Students for Herd Immunity full-time.

We've grown quite a bit," she said.

As well as the ambassador program, the organization has spoken as part of a panel on vaccine boosters at the White House, interviewed Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam, and is currently being evaluated by the World Health Organization to join the Vaccine Safety Net, an initiative to combat misinformation online.

Looking long-term, we're hoping to somehow work with school boards or work with education ministers to incorporate more information about immunization into the curriculum," Yang said.

In Hamilton, 79 per cent of those ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated - the same rate as general population. Provincewide, that number is higher at about 82 per cent.

I think there's space for optimism," she said.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com