Keep Calm and Stay Healthy
Public relations professionals should stay calm under pressure and keep accurate information flowing. When important messaging needs to be relayed for the safety of the public, it is crucial to disseminate information accurately and regularly. In today’s volatile political climate, however, it is difficult for those who work within those fields to do so if there are alternative agendas.
As someone who has spent the past several years doing public relations in the area of public health, I am witnessing a failure in the dissemination of the proper information.
The coronavirus is of serious concern and should not be taken lightly. However, in many outlets and with many who are out front speaking about and reporting on the disease, many seem overanxious and even giddy about getting the proper information out to the public, seemingly trying to create a false public panic.
As of this past Monday, March 2, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was reporting that in the U.S. there were 43 total cases with 17 persons hospitalized over 10 states due to the coronavirus. As of Monday morning, there were six deaths from the disease. This is the total since public health officials began their surveillance on the disease January 21, 2020.
Public health officials are doing their jobs by watching the event closely, but let’s put things in perspective. In 2009, the H1N1 virus (the swine flu) infected 60.8 million people in the U.S. alone and caused 12,469 deaths. Worldwide, more than 575 million people died from swine flu.
This past week I found the public relations outreach plan I wrote in April, 2016, regarding the Zika virus. Many were panicking because the mosquitos were going to come in and kill or infect us all. Well, no, not really. We had in place a very solid communications plan that told the public what we were doing to combat the virus and what could be done by individuals and families to help.
Similar statements and plans were made each year for flu season, where we repeatedly stressed the importance of proper hand washing, getting your flu shot, coughing or sneezing into your sleeve, staying at home from work or school if you were ill, eating healthy, exercising and contacting your physician or health department if you had any concerns.
The coronavirus is what we are hearing about on the national level and misinformation is spreading all over social media worse than the virus itself. Many are in a panic acting as if there is already a pandemic. However, did you know that during a typical year influenza alone accounts for between 3 million and 5 million infections and more than 500,000 deaths? So, in comparison, which is really more of a threat – the yearly flu or the coronavirus?
There are other diseases that are causing far more deaths and serious complications in our society today. Vaping, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, obesity, heart disease, cancer and other issues are causing far more deaths than what we need to worry about from the coronavirus. However, those seem to have become so commonplace they are not worth reporting about.
Some claim the perceived panic is for political gain toward one side or the other. In an election season especially, that is probably true in some cases, but not all.
If you really want to be protected from the coronavirus and other types of influenza strains, the very best things you can do is go live your life and practice good health habits – and by all means, stay calm and wash your hands.
Randy Gibson is the CEO of RDG Communications Group, LLC, and the former director of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Texas State Rifle Association.
