I believe the initial effort should focus on getting shots to the ready, willing and eager, and then enlisting them as ambassadors. These are families who have been desperate for shots. In advance of the CDC’s green light, Texas Children’s Hospital reported booking 120 appointments per minute starting last Friday. By Tuesday morning, more than 28,000 children were signed up.

Getting this initial group vaccinated will itself have a substantial effect: Twenty-seven percent of 28 million newly eligible children is nearly 8 million grade school students who will be protected in time for Christmas. These kids and their parents can help pediatricians, school officials and local health departments explain to others the benefits of vaccination.

Importantly, this effort should demonstrate what families are able to do once they are fully vaccinated. The media should help tell their stories: The child with autoimmune disease who had to be home-schooled and is now able to see his friends. The family that hasn’t been able to travel abroad to visit elderly grandparents but can now reunite. The kid who was pulled out of gymnastics and soccer who can now resume the extracurricular activities she loves.