Members of the media are welcome to contact Vote & Vax for information regarding programs.
Vote & Vax works with innovative leaders in public health. Our experts are available for interviews, public speaking engagements and other discussions to help you learn more about Vote & Vax and influenza prevention.
Media Contacts
Hollis Calhoun
(202) 293-6200
Email:
hollis@spitfirestrategies.com
Troy Petenbrink
(202) 297-1703
Email:
troy@spitfirestrategies.com
For general inquires about the Vote & Vax project: info@voteandvax.org.
News releases
Vote & Vax Flu Shot Clinics Operating At More Than 250 Polling Sites Nationwide
Oct 31,2008
Thousands of people will be able to receive an influenza vaccination at special flu shot clinics being held at or near polling sites across the United States. More than 280 clinics are part of the Vote & Vax project, a non-partisan and non-political public health effort designed to help increase flu vaccination rates.
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Convenience is Key to Adult Flu Vaccinations
Oct 15,2008
During this year’s national presidential election, more than 125 million Americans are expected to pass through polling places – and two-thirds of them are likely to be age 50 and older. To take advantage of this unique opportunity, nearly 200 flu shot clinics will be taking place at or near polling sites, including some early voting locations, across 30 states and the District of Columbia.
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Vote & Vax Clinics Offer Flu Shots on Election Day
Sep 16,2008
On Election Day, November 4, 2008, vaccination providers will host convenient flu shot clinics at or near many polling sites across the country. This non-partisan, non-political national public health strategy, called Vote & Vax, is intended to increase the number of Americans who receive a vaccination against the influenza virus. The approach is especially important for Americans age 50 and older who are at the greatest risk of having serious complications from the flu.
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Douglas Shenson, MD MPH
Dr. Shenson is president of SPARC (Sickness Prevention Achieved through Regional Collaboration) and program director of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Vote & Vax Program. In 2000, the Peter Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management awarded Dr. Shenson one of five national fellowships for entrepreneurial performance and community innovation. In 2005, Dr. Shenson was awarded the Aetna Susan B. Anthony Award for Excellence in Research on Older Women and Public Health by the American Public Health Association. Dr. Shenson has provided technical assistance and consultation to the CDC’s National Immunization Programs. Dr. Shenson is an associate clinical professor at the Yale School of Public Health, a visiting associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Population Health Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, and an associate director of the Yale Griffin Prevention Research Center.
Bill Benson
Bill Benson has been a leader on policy issues of aging and health for 34 years. From 1993 to 1998 Mr. Benson was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging at the Administration on Aging (AoA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was the acting Assistant Secretary for Aging in 1997. He is a past president of the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, president of the Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement & the American Association for International Aging, and chairs the advisory board to the Center on Global Aging at Catholic University of America’s School of Social Work. Prior to moving to Washington, DC, Mr. Benson was with the California Department of Aging including serving for more than five years as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.