Sesame Street Child Immunization Campaign

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The Sesame Street Child Immunization Campaign was a health drive held in Hartford, Connecticut during May of 1976. Dubbed the "Big Shot" campaign, the effort sought to immunize children against polio, whooping cough, measles, rubella, tetanus, and diphtheria in response to a national study that showed one third of all inner-city children under the age of five were not vaccinated against common preventable diseases.
The Hartford Health Department teamed with Children's Television Workshop to advertise the campaign with a number of promotional materials featuring Big Bird, including 30- and 60-second TV spots in English and Spanish, radio ads, and print fliers. Sesame Street characters also made several personal appearances in the capital city to promote the campaign. Vaccines were administered at several clinics, as well as thirty Hartford schools visited by a roving "Big Shot" van. Immunized children received a yellow "I'm a Big Shot" lapel button.
Held from May 17 to May 28, the campaign was the brainchild of CTW's Joan Ganz Cooney, who wrote an article on the state of American immunization rates published in The Hartford Courant. The campaign was considered a success with 546 students immunized, and treated as a test pilot for campaigns in other cities around the country, including Jackson, Mississippi.
==See also==
* Sesame Street Episode 0343, 1972 (Big Bird gets vaccinated against the measles)
==Sources==
* 
* The Hartford Courant "Sesame Street Gang to Push Special Health Drive in City", April 10, 1976
* The Hartford Courant "Big Shot Fires at Conquered Ills" by Sanford Cloud, Jr., May 17, 1976
* The Hartford Courant "5.3 Million Pre-Schoolers Unprotected" by Joan Ganz Cooney, May 17, 1976
* The Hartford Courant "546 Students Receive Shots", June 24, 1976
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Category:Public Service Announcements
Category:Live Appearances
Category:Medical