Flu vaccine shortage: Flu vaccine shortage: Gaining public cooperation through effective communication James Apa, BS Matias Valenzuela, Ph.D. Public Health - Seattle & King County

Learning objectives Identify key considerations in developing a communication and media plan to respond to a public health crisis Recognize the need to use principles of risk communication throughout a crisis Recognize the value of public messaging coordination among partner agencies, health care providers and hospitals By the end of this Hot Topics session you should be able to:

A morning like any other, until... October 5th -- pagers buzz at 8 AM Reports from Britain that half of U.S. flu vaccine will be unavailable for use this year What have we heard? How will this affect local residents? What comment do we have?

How would you respond to media questions? A) Provide no comment B) Refer all questions to the CDC C) Handle press questions on a case-by-case basis D) Hold a press conference and issue press release

An effective communications strategy will: Meet the information demands of the public and media before all the facts of a situation are known Gain and keep the public’s trust and cooperation throughout a period of crisis and uncertainty Promote resiliency and maintain social bonds when people are afraid

Our approach Held press conference on afternoon of October 5 th and issued press release Provided key messages: prioritization to high-risk populations, good health manners, promising a full inventory of local supplies Promised local updates as more information became available Press Release Press Release

Consistent messaging critical Updated website: Created taking points for front desk staff Updated recorded hotline Alerted public health and hospital partners

Early press coverage Who’s to blame for the loss of vaccine? Are healthy people stepping aside? Long lines Where to find vaccine?

Communicating difficult messages “I found it difficult to communicate about vaccine availability for high-risk populations when supplies were so limited.” Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Keeping the public updated Second press conference on October 12th, announcing health order and availability of children’s vaccine Providing results of survey findings Updating website, hotline, frontline staff, all Public Health employees Handling continued press calls

Keeping track of federal announcements HHS/CDC press conferences with very little notice, not much new information Subscribed to HHS/CDC media listserve Learning new information at the same time as program staff and media

Expect the unexpected Public request for vaccine donations Proposed walk-up public vaccination clinic at football stadium “First” flu case released by local provider Opportunities to educate about Public Health system

Developing good health manners campaign Ads for use in non-English media (print and radio) Ad boards on buses Posters for clinics, restaurants, public spaces Developing on-line training for employees and general public

The next phase: community vaccine distribution Coordinated announcement with State Dept. of Health to announce local vaccine allotment Communicating rationale for balanced, equitable distribution of vaccine Carefully crafting messaging about public vaccination clinics

Connecting public with vaccine Establishing staffed call center Directing public to providers or nearest public vaccination clinics Continually updating messages as availability changes

Anticipating future questions and issues Equity of vaccine availability Severity of flu season and effectiveness of vaccine Availability and appropriate use of anti-viral treatments Safety of imported vaccine Too much vaccine in January?

Foundation for effective messaging in a crisis Be first Be open, honest and available Be able to deal with evolving information Express empathy and support Provide consistent and redundant messages