For all the talk of a certain social media platform stepping back from taking action against Covid-19 misinformation, relying on social media for information dissemination and as a channel for knowledge sharing is a health governance failure.
Governments need to develop communications channels that are transparent and able to convey the science in a way that people can understand. In particular, there is a need for some way of talking about responding based on imperfect and developing information, and how recommendations may change as information comes in. And there should be avenues to debunk misinformation quickly.
Policymakers should also find a way to provide a forum for dissenting expert voices, and not have them feel like they are shouting into the wind.
And, health communications should be sensitive to and respond to the everyday social and economic impacts on people, and not just focus on mitigations. The trade-offs should be discussed with communities, and I know this could be controversial, I think communities should be given some say and some role. We want public trust, but we need to also place some trust in the public, so as to make them feel like they can regain some sense of agency and control.
More broadly, as we face a world that will encounter more shocks of various kinds, communications should be a central element of any preparedness plan, not an afterthought.
#CovidGovernance #CovidPolicy #HealthPolicy #CovidMisinformation
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