Panic Can Also Spread Virally

This fall the H1N1 Swine Flu has the potential to cause irrational fear and widespread panic, in addition to the real threat of sickness and death. The government is trying to ready themselves for both aspects of the potential epidemic. The real risk is the spread of the contagion across the population, but health officials are also bracing themselves for misinformation that can spread fast and furiously through social media channels.

Swine Flu vaccinations began this week, and health care workers, pregnant woman and child care providers are among the first to be vaccinated. Although deemed perfectly safe by the C.D.C, officials are worried that unrelated health problems may mistakenly be connected to the Swine Flu vaccine. Separating the incidents of naturally occurring strokes, heart attacks, miscarriages and death from the coincidence of receiving the vaccine will be a big challenge for health officials this year.

Managing the public perception about the Swine Flu, and keeping the population calm and well informed is shaping up to be the Super Bowl of public relations challenges for the government . With incessant social media chatter and the 24 hour news cycle, serious consideration needs to be given to the question of how we can control the flow of global information during times of crisis.

Fortunately, the C. D.C. is prepared to provide rapid-fire communications and information which is widely available through many social media channels. Press conferences can be seen live on the agency’s website, flu.gov, and updates are available through many social media outlets such as Facebook , Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube. All of these channels and more can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/.

So what else can the C.D.C. do for population? In addition to providing an outgoing, one-way flow of information, the C.D.C. would be wise to take advantage of the higher level of engagement that social media offers. By monitoring and then quickly responding to trending topics on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the blogosphere, they can build credibility and defuse rumors and fears before they can spread virally and cause real harm.