Toronto, ON – RIWI Corp. (TSXV: RIWI) (OTC: RWCRF) (the “Company” or “RIWI”), a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm, has signed an agreement with the Global Health Crisis Coordination Center (“GHC3”) to assist with the SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines InformationEquity and Demand Creation Project (“COVIED”), an information equity program to ensure COVID-19 vaccine information is accurate, trusted, context-specific, and equally accessible for all communities and demographics in the United States. The initiative is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) in partnership with The Task Force for Global Health.
RIWI’s contract is valued at US$740,000 and RIWI has commenced work on this public health security initiative. GHC3 enjoys the right to extend the agreement and engage RIWI for further work.
“We are proud to work with global public health experts at GHC3 and its partner organizations to optimize the dissemination and uptake of effective, approved vaccines against COVID-19 in the United States through the provision of RIWI data feeds and automated analytics that track changing sentiment toward the vaccines. RIWI will provide inclusive data from a diversity of Americans that: (i) does not collect, share or store any personally identifiable information; (ii) can assist experts to better understand which regions and communities of the country are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and why; (iii) can help guide the development of targeted messages to foster agile community engagement efforts to reduce vaccine hesitancy; (iv) can build and sustain trust in vaccine science; (v) can increase information equity about the vaccines, with priority given to those most at risk of COVID-19; and (vi) can accelerate the speed of economic recovery and equitable healthcare in the United States for all Americans,” said Neil Seeman, RIWI’s Chief Executive Officer.
“A ‘one-size fits all’ approach for communication will not ensure that those who are at disproportionate risk of COVID will accept and seek immunization against COVID-19,” said Dr. Robert Breiman, GHC3’s Chief Science Officer, Professor of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at Emory University, and Program Director for COVIED. “This program will develop tailored messages delivered by the most appropriate messengers and in optimal settings and formats to help to ensure that everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, age or current intentions and concerns will be armed with what they need to make informed decisions about getting immunized. We expect that this effort will help to raise immunization coverage, especially among those at disproportionate risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19, which will reduce illness, save lives, and get us back to safely doing the things we must do as a productive society and want to experience together in our day to day lives.” “Communities are experiencing this pandemic differently, and human response to information is different in crisis,” said Brandy Mai, GHC3 Director of Public Information. “We must add those crisis considerations to the complex lenses of racial, historical, and cultural experiences when building, implementing, and adapting effective community engagement. Failure to achieve equitable access and gain acceptance of vaccines and will represent a tragic public health failure.” Dr. Breiman observes: “There are disproportionate risks for COVID-associated illness, hospitalization, and death among people who are linked to systemic social injustices and underlying medical conditions. However, many people within communities at disproportionate risk for COVID-19 may also not accept immunization without communication that resonates and gains trust.”
COVIED will follow a systematic, multi-stage process aimed to identify those susceptible populations in the U.S. demonstrating COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and also most at risk for COVID-19 illness, hospitalization, and death. COVIED will also provide tailored messaging to these populations through community engagement and widespread message dissemination.
GHC3 will have primary oversight responsibility for project implementation. Dr. Robert Breiman, Emory University faculty and Chief Science Officer for GHC3 will serve as Program Director and Principal Investigator, and Dr. Daniel Salmon, Johns Hopkins University and Drs. Walt Orenstein and Jim Lavery of Emory University will serve as Co-Principal Investigators. Dr. Lavery will oversee the ethnography and stakeholder engagement, and Dr. Salmon at Johns Hopkins University will lead message development and strategies for dissemination, working with a variety of academic and non-profit partners, including the National Association of Community Health Centers, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and the Association of Immunization Managers.
About GHC3
The Global Health Crisis Coordination Center (“GHC3”) connects private sector resources to public sector and healthcare needs for COVID-19 and other healthcare crises around the globe. By harnessing the power of the private sector’s technology, logistics, and innovation, GHC3 is able to augment government response to high-priority challenges in global health. GHC3 is a division of the Center for Global Health Innovation. For more information on GHC3, visit: globalhealthc3.org.
About RIWI
RIWI is a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm. On a monthly or annual subscription basis, RIWI offers its clients tracking surveys, continuous risk monitoring, predictive analytics and ad effectiveness tests in all countries – without collecting any personally identifiable data. https://riwi.com
RIWI CORP.
Signed: “Neil Seeman”
Neil Seeman, Chief Executive Officer
For more information, please contact:
Andrew Barwicki
Barwicki Investor Relations Inc.
Andrew@Barwicki.com
1-516-662-9461
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CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
Information and statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation that involves risks and uncertainties. Forward looking information included herein is made as of the date of this news release and RIWI does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update forward-looking information unless required by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance and reflects management of the Company’s expectations or beliefs regarding future events. This forward-looking information is based, in part, on assumptions and factors that may change or prove to be incorrect, thus causing actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information.
