GSK has teamed up with Modern Family stars Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell to drive the ‘do-your-know’ message about the risk of meningococcal disease.
The disease is most prevalent among teenagers and young adults, ages 16 to 23, who have the highest incidence of meningitis.
Small-scale epidemics may also occur in universities and schools due to the close quarters. The disease is deadly and can lead to death within just 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. Even if they survive, if the infection is not caught in time, they can remain in critical condition for several weeks and face amputation.
The best way to protect yourself from the disease is through vaccination, and GSK is asking Bowen and Burrell, who played parents of three teenagers on hit comedy Modern Family and now both have teenagers, to share their message: Ask2BSure.
The public health campaign was “established to raise awareness and encourage parents to ‘ask to be sure’ about the risks of meningococcal disease and whether their children are fully vaccinated.”
The pair appear in a new video, “The Mening-Itinerary,” which is currently available to watch on GSK’s YouTube channel.
“Mening-Itinerary” takes viewers on a journey through the everyday moments of a parenting teen and explores how, through certain everyday actions, we share germs that can cause meningitis.
Bowen and Burrell dig deeper into the risks of meningitis, hear from real survivors of the disease and their families, and find out questions parents may not be able to ask about meningitis and vaccinations.
“We are excited to bring this educational message to life while blending humor and heart in a way that is approachable to parents of teenagers,” Burrell said in a May 7 statement.
“My teenage daughters mean everything to me, and I hope this video inspires parents to discuss meningitis risks and vaccinations with their teenage daughters’ doctors,” he added.
Last summer, GSK won FDA approval for Penmenvy, a 5-in-1 meningococcal vaccine designed to protect against meningococcal serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y.
Sales of the company’s meningitis products in the first quarter were 335 million pounds ($445 million), down 3% from the same period last year.
This comes amid declining coverage of all childhood immunizations in the United States.
The campaign also comes at a painful time for the British pharmaceutical giant’s home country. In March, an outbreak of meningitis occurred in and around the University of Kent in eastern England, killing two students.
It was identified as being from the meningococcal group B (MenB) bacterial strain, which led to a major push for students to take antibiotics as a precaution, and subsequently increased vaccination against MenB.
In the UK, MenB vaccination was not included in the government’s immunization program until 2015, leaving most teenagers and young people unvaccinated.
