Ep73: Communicating a Pandemic

There are many layers of public health interventions that can reduce the rate of transmission of the novel coronavirus. Social distancing, mask wearing, lockdowns and vaccines each nudge the reproduction number down. But you need all of them working together to make a significant impact, and that means you need the community on board. In this podcast we discuss the challenges and strategies around communicating public health messages to the public during a time of such high anxiety. Jessica Kaufman is a research fellow in the Vaccine Acceptance, Uptake and Policy Research Team at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute who presented her work to the RACP Congress in May. She outlined the principles and clarity, transparency and consistency that are needed to win the public’s trust when tough social restrictions need to be adhered to.    We also hear an interview with Professor Allen Cheng FRACP, who’s played this game harder than most. As Deputy Chief Health Officer of Victoria, he advised on implementation of the lockdown that brought Melbourne’s second wave to a halt after four long months. If being part of fun police wasn’t enough responsibility, he also co-chaired the COVID-19 Group at the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation which had to weigh up the suitability of the Astrazeneca vaccine as reports of rare side-effects and death were emerging in real time. He describes the fine balance between providing enough information for the public to be able to make informed decisions.Guests Dr Jessica Kaufman (Murdoch Children's Research Institute) Professor Allen Cheng FRACP (Alfred Health; Monash University; ATAGI; TGA)ProductionWritten and produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music courtesy of Free Music Archive includes ‘Passages’ and ‘Snowfall Intro’ by Kai Engel, ‘Become Death’ by Jahzarr. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Sunstorm’ by ELFL. Image licensed from Getty Images.  Feedback on this episode was kindly provided Frank Beard of the RACP COVID-19 Expert Advisory Group, and the members of the Podcast Editorial Group.Please visit the RACP website for a transcript and supporting references. Fellows of the College can claim CPD credits for listening to the podcast and reading supporting resources.