As the immunization coordinator for the San Benito County Public Health Division, Kevin Ahern originally planned to hold a “herd immunity” skit at a local elementary school in observance of National Public Health Week in April. This was in the context of the measles outbreak at Disneyland. Logistical and scheduling issues changed those plans, so Ahern and his colleagues instead morphed the skit idea into a video.

"So I worked on the script, got it translated into Spanish, and worked with my colleagues here at the public health division and with the staff of the YMCA’s after-school program at Gabilan Hills Elementary School to arrange a filming day," Ahern said.

Over the course of a few hours in late April, a group of employees from the San Benito County Public Health Division filmed a group of kids at Gabilan Hills performing the skit. Ian Slattery of the Community Media Access Partnership (CMAP) did editing and final production work. A couple of the skit participants also did the voiceovers in English and Spanish.

"This was a huge team effort, involving folks at the YMCA’s after-school program, CMAP, and the public health division," Ahern said.

For more information on local immunizations, click here.

To watch the video in Spanish, click below.