As part of National Public Health Week every spring, the Michigan Public Health Week Partnership, led by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, selects individuals for their annual Hometown Health Hero Awards. The awards highlight Michiganders who have made an impact in their community advocating for public health, and this year, Franny Strong Foundation and I Vaccinate campaign founder Veronica McNally is one of them.
In 2013, Veronica McNally lost her infant daughter to a vaccine-preventable illness, pertussis. Since that time, she has founded the Franny Strong Foundation and partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on the successful public-private I Vaccinate campaign. This work is all in addition to her full-time day job at the Michigan State University College of Law.
The McNallys launched the Franny Strong Foundation in honor of their daughter and pledged to do whatever they could to prevent this type of tragedy from happening to other families. In 2016, the McNallys secured funding for what has become a revolutionary statewide public health campaign called I Vaccinate. The campaign is based on feedback from Michigan parents and bridges the knowledge gap between parents and health providers — providing parents with credible answers to their questions and science-based information they need to protect their kids. The campaign launched in March of 2017 and has secured funding from the Michigan legislature every year since, now in its sixth year. This work led to her appointment on the U.S. Advisory Council on Immunization Practices, and her voice and experience have provided an invaluable perspective to the historic COVID-19 vaccine approval process.
Veronica has made it her goal to know everything she can about the vaccines up for authorization and approval as well as collect and review input from parents about their biggest questions and concerns. Her dedication to ensuring safe and effective vaccines and accurately representing the voice of concerned parents across America has resulted in the first approved and authorized COVID-19 vaccines in our history.
Veronica was chosen for this award by the Michigan Public Health Week Partnership, consisting of the following organizations:
- the Michigan Association of Counties,
- the Michigan Association for Local Public Health,
- the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,
- the Michigan Public Health Association,
- the Michigan Public Health Institute,
- Michigan State University,
- the University of Michigan School of Public Health,
- Grand Valley State University, Department of Public Health,
- and Wayne State University.