By CAMILA FERNANDEZ
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
The Hamilton County Health Department is doing all it can to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. To help combat the virus, the health department is working with area students and asking them to post things on social media to show how they’re stopping the spread.
“It’s been phenomenal, and they just lend a different voice,” said Tammy Sander, Hamilton County government’s media relations liaison. “They lend a fresh voice, and I think that actually a really influential voice.”
According to county health officials, a growing number of coronavirus cases are happening locally among kids between birth and age 19. So, they asked students at Westfield Washington Schools to take over their social media accounts to show others how they’re fighting the virus inside their classrooms.
“Teens get their best information from one another,” Sander said. “They’re just the most influential people in their lives.”
Westfield High School senior Jake Richardson, who is taking part in the initiative, says it’s a step in the right direction to bring change. “Overall, we’re mainly targeting our students in the school and we want our community members to be involved on the importance of really keeping everybody in the school safe.”
According to Sander, the health department selected Richardson and other students to take over the health department’s Instagram and TikTok accounts. The students post videos that show off cleaning supplies, how they maintain social distance, and how much they take the virus seriously.
Richardson says it’s not an easy task. “It was kind of difficult at times to think about hey, does this make sense? Does this Tik Tok format make sense? Does this wording of what I’m trying to articulate and get across make sense?”
Richardson is also a member of his high school’s Teen Task Force, which aims to encourage students and their parents to mask up and help stop the spread. He says he and other students want to stay in school, instead of working virtually from home, so they’ll do whatever it takes to bring change while keeping everyone safe.
“We truly want to have the rest of our senior year,” Richardson said. “We really want to continue on with our school and with our life.”
Teen Task Forces at high schools in Hamilton County are also encouraging students to show “Show Some C.L.A.S.S.” in the fight against COVID-19. The acronym stands for: C – Commit to self-care; L – Learn about the vaccine; A – Avoid in-home gatherings; S – Social distance and mask up; and S – Stay home.
The Hamilton County Health Department serves all of the county except Fishers, which has its own health department. Hamilton County officials say they plan to select more students to take over its social media accounts and help prevent the spread of the virus.