麻豆传媒

Franco Harris and Rod Woodson both know a bit about overcoming long odds.

Harris is in the final seconds of a 1972 National Football League (NFL) playoff game for the Pittsburgh Steelers, when he plucked a deflected pass off his shoe top.

Woodson, a defensive back, returned quickly from a major knee injury suffered at age 30 with the Steelers, switched positions, and .

Both are among the most popular athletes in Pittsburgh, a city that adores the Steelers.

Perhaps, then, they are fitting ambassadors to help the CDC promote COVID-19 vaccines to , especially those in ethnic minority communities.

Harris and Woodson, both Black, are among several former NFL players participating in a campaign run jointly by the CDC and NFL Alumni Association, a nonprofit sponsored by the league that operates independently. They are trying to spread key messages about the pandemic -- particularly the need to get vaccinated, and to wear masks and practice social distancing while waiting their turn.

The campaign relies primarily on social media posts and online videos for now, directing viewers to the CDC's homepage via Tweets and player endorsements on an .

Organizers hope to capitalize on the former players' fame. They especially hope to reach minority populations skeptical of the CDC. Kyle Richardson, a former punter who now serves as the association's co-director of healthcare initiatives, said the players are influential. "We are in the community, we're leveraging our brand."

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, agrees. Speaking to NFL alumni in a February video chat with NFL Alumni CEO Beasley Reese, which has since been , Walensky acknowledged that trust is in short supply. "They may not even believe me. They want to hear it from their heroes and that's you," she told the group.

"My guys are ready," responded Reese.

"There are so many people that want to hear from you and not from me," Walensky said, encouraging the former players to model wearing masks and social distancing, and share accurate information about the vaccine -- including the need to get a second shot for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

"We can all take Dr. Walensky's words and go out and be leaders in our community, and when we see people doing the wrong things, let's speak up," Reese said during the chat. "Let's do what we can. Let's help."

Many former players expressed interest in assisting the campaign after the chat, Richardson said. Organizers plan to roll out on-the-ground efforts once many more people have been vaccinated.

Until then, they have the videos. These include Reese, 66, getting his second shot. "I want you to get the vaccine too," says Reese, who was a defensive back with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants in the 1970s and 1980s.

Three of the nine videos on the alumni site feature players on the champion -- including linebacker Harry Carson, center Bart Oates (, and kicker Raul Allegre (president of NFL Alumni's Austin, Texas chapter).

The site also includes video encouragement from Harris and Woodson. Woodson was a star cornerback when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in the 1995 season opener. thought he was out for the season, but he became the first player in NFL history to return from that injury the same season when he played in the Super Bowl. A few years later at age 34, after being released, -- where he played for five more seasons.

"I spent 17 years in the NFL as a defensive back, but not even I can defend against COVID alone," he says. "That's why I'm getting vaccinated. For more information, go to www.cdc.gov."

Like Woodson, Harris is an NFL Hall of Famer.

Harris begins his video by removing a yellow Steelers-themed mask; an engraved silver football resting on a mantle behind him reads "Franco Harris" and "32," his number as a Steelers running back. The Steelers logo is also visible on the ball. He sports the same dark, medium-thick beard he wore for much of the Steelers' reign over the NFL in the 1970s, including four championships.

"I didn't want to get hit by COVID, so I got vaccinated," Harris, 70, says in the video. "Don't take the hit. Get the vaccine. That's your best move."

Said Richardson, who is also president of NFL Alumni's Baltimore chapter, "I think we'll have a good impact that will resonate."

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