AP’s health and science journalists and their regional colleagues worked nonstop for weeks to gain access to the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine campaign, the largest vaccination program in U.S. history. They reached out to old sources and spent weeks cultivating new ones, breaking down barriers to ensure that AP was positioned to cover the story – from trucks rolling with vaccine deliveries to the first jabs in arms.
The source reporting paid off. Tips were aggressively followed and coordination between video, photo and regional news desks led to robust back-to-back all-formats pieces on the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, including healthcare workers receiving the first injections. Video went live from several hospitals that were among the first to vaccinate front-line workers.
Play was unmatched. The vaccine shipment story appeared appeared on more than 2,500 news sites and landed on at least 69 front pages including the Chicago Tribune,the Detroit News, the Kansas City Star and others.
The story of the initial vaccinations appeared on at least 1,300 news sites and 64 front pages,including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,the Chattanooga Times Free Press,the Orange County Register and others.
The New York Times used AP photos as its lead image on consecutive days.
Both stories attracted high readership on the AP News site and app, and had excellent engagement on social media sites.