Marlboro Students Fight Pertussis One Video at a Time

For four Marlboro High School artists have received accolades for a short film they recently completed.

The group—Orry Ostermann, 17, Alex Donato, Robin Simon, and Martina Stewart, have been named winners in the Protect Me With 3 statewide video contest sponsored by the NJ Department of Health and The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey (Partnership). The students will be honored at an upcoming ceremony at Marlboro High School.

Protect Me With 3 is designed to increase knowledge of the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap); meningococcal conjugate; and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among New Jersey youth. 

The competition challenged students to create 30-second videos about the importance of vaccinations and how to prevent pertussis, or whooping cough.

“As children get older, protection from some vaccines begins to wane. Additionally, older children can also develop risks for other diseases. Protect Me With 3 was developed to educate adolescents and their parents on the importance of talking to their healthcare provider to ensure they have received all of the recommended vaccinations,” said Dr. Christina Tan, New Jersey State Epidemiologist. “The participation we saw in this year’s video contest and the level of creativity and passion on display in the submissions, demonstrate that NJ youth play a vital role in communicating to their peers the importance of disease prevention.”

Classes in both age brackets with the most overall participation were awarded a $100 gift card, while the two grand prize winners will receive either a Kindle Fire HD or an Ipad Mini complete with $50 gift cards.

Ostermann and his classmates' video is an animated short that talks about the importance of vaccinations. Watch it here and tell us what you think.