Giving It Their Best Shot in New York

To help educate and empower kids in New York City around COVID-19 vaccination, arts organization Sing for Hope wrote and produced “Don’t Throw Away Your Shot,” an original musical that addresses the topic of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and confidence. Written for a young audience under the age of 13, the musical takes place in a school cafeteria where two students, the school janitor, and an adult lunch worker share their personal vaccine-related stories. In 2022, Sing for Hope performed the musical virtually as well as on-site at schools and local theatres. At one Off-Broadway performance for middle-schoolers in March 2022, the theatre required audience members to show proof of vaccination to attend. One previously unvaccinated middle-schooler shared that this encouraged her to talk to her parents about getting vaccinated so she could go to the show. “We empower our students in so many ways,” said one participating teacher. “The show reminds our students to ask questions and have a dialogue with the adult-decision makers in their lives.”

Funding for this effort is made possible through a subaward from the CDC Foundation and is part of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) financial assistance award totaling $2,500,000.00 with 100 percent funding from CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.