Health Citizen Pledge

Add your name to the Health Citizen Pledge and commit to do your part to control the pandemic.

We can get the COVID-19 pandemic under control.

But we need to work together to do it. All of us. As individuals, as families, as neighbors, as members of a community, as business people, as government employees and elected officials.

Being a good health citizen comes down to considering the impact of your choices on your friends, family, neighbors, and strangers–not just on yourself. By taking this Pledge, you are committing to consider those impacts in what you do–and don’t do.

There’s a list below of specific examples of what being a good health citizen looks like in this pandemic–along with resources to help you make informed choices.

As a member of the public, I agree that the following are priorities:

To responsibly reopen and restart our social lives, our schools, and our economy.

To save lives, reduce suffering, and decrease long-term disability by slowing the spread of COVID-19.

To protect the physical and mental well-being of our healthcare workers and other essential workers so they can continue to take care of us and our loved ones.

To support these priorities, I pledge to consider the following:

Prevention

1. I will establish a social bubble with others who have a similar risk tolerance and are committed to maintaining that bubble.
2. When I am outside of that social bubble, I will wear a mask and practice physical distancing for as long as COVID-19 is still a threat to my community. I will take extra care when near people who are high risk, including the elderly, disabled, and immune-compromised.
3. I will learn about COVID-19 from knowledgeable, fact-based sources and understand that information about COVID-19 will change as we learn more about it.
4. I will get a flu vaccine if I am able to do so and keep up with my appointments for other health needs in order to protect my health and preserve healthcare resources for the care of people with COVID-19.
5. I will get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as it is made available to me, not only to protect myself but as a responsible health citizen doing my part to reach community-based herd immunity.
6. I will continue to physically distance and wear a mask even after getting vaccinated, recognizing that I may still pass the virus to others because the vaccine only protects against serious cases of COVID-19, not mild to asymptomatic cases. (Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines)

Planning

1. I will learn how to safely get a COVID-19 test before I need to be tested and commit to getting tested if I think I may have been exposed.
2. I will create a household COVID plan for how to isolate and care for myself or people I live with if one of us becomes sick or tests positive.
3. I will make an emergency contact list, including phone numbers for hospitals and clinics I might need to visit. I will call to get the current guidelines on when and how to safely visit before going to a hospital or clinic.
4. I will learn how contact tracing works near me so I can be prepared to participate if I test positive or find out I had contact with someone who did.

Policy

1. I will vote for (if I am legally able) and support candidates and elected officials who understand the government health responsibilities listed below.
2. I will hold government officials accountable for following through on these responsibilities.

Government Health Responsibilities

To sponsor and support policies that are based on the advice of non-partisan public health experts.

To work with all levels of government and the private sector to create and support testing, contact tracing, and isolation programs that are adequate to contain the pandemic.

To protect the safety of our healthcare and essential workers and ensure they have enough high quality PPE to do their jobs as safely as possible.

To financially support businesses and households to encourage healthy choices and improve the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Signature

I pledge to do my part as a good health citizen to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control, and I call on my elected representatives and government officials to uphold their responsibility to protect the health of the people.