The Department of Health and Human Services has offered a contract worth more than $250 million to a communications firm that can mount a public relations campaign on the COVID-19 pandemic, with the vast majority of the money to be spent before January, Politico reports. Among the listed goals of the contract are to "defeat despair and inspire hope, sharing best practices for businesses to operate in the new normal and instill confidence to return to work and restart the economy," according to a "performance work statement" went to more than a dozen firms.
The campaign includes creating public service announcements to persuade Americans to "engage in behavior that actively promote health behaviors or good citizenship," as well as informing the public about vaccine information, treatments, and the phases of reopening the economy, Politico reports. Using traditional and social media, sports and entertainment figures, and other "creative partners" to "deliver important public health and economic information, the administration can defeat despair, inspire hope, and achieve national recovery," the document says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise winTALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
How to make music part of your vacationLet the rhythm move you
-
What is credit card churning and why is it risky?the explainer Churners frequently open new credit cards with the intent of earning a welcome bonus and accessing other perks
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
