McDonald’s is changing its coffee cups to promote the Covid-19 vaccine

McDonald’s is partnering with the White House to promote vaccination information on its coffee cups as hesitancy grows about taking the potentially life-saving shot.

Beginning in July, customers in the United States will see redesigned McCafe cups and delivery seal stickers that features “We Can Do This,” a slogan created by the US Department of Health and Human Services to promote vaccine confidence. It also includes a website address (vaccines.gov) that directs people to nearby appointments and safety information.

The promotion will last several weeks and the slogan will be printed on roughly 50 million cups.

Prior to that, McDonald’s said its billboard in New York’s Times Square location will also display vaccine information beginning in mid-May.

“We all want to protect ourselves and our loved ones and be together with our communities again,” said Genna Gent, McDonald’s USA vice president for global public policy and government relations, in a statement. “McDonald’s is excited to be doing our part for the people we serve, providing them with simple information that can help keep them safe.”

Xavier Becerra, the Health and Human Services secretary, said in a statement that the public-private partnership will “be able to get trusted information about vaccines when they grab a cup of coffee or order a meal.”

“This effort will help more people make informed decisions about their health and learn about steps they can take to protect themselves and their communities,” he added.

McDonald’s wasn’t paid by the government for this promotion, according to a person familiar with the campaign.

The “We Can Do This” campaign was announced in March and aimed at encouraging hesitant Americans to get immunized. In a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 47% of people who say they want to “wait and see” before being vaccinated said paid time off to get it would make them more likely to do so, and 39% said a financial incentive of $200 from their employer would work.

The US vaccination rate has declined from its peak last month, pushing officials to offer new incentives to further encourage the wary, hesitant and inaccessible to get vaccinated. So far, more than 150 million people in the US have received at least one dose of the vaccine.