Abstract
In Dec 2019, a novel pathogen emerged, and within weeks, led to the emergence of the biggest global health crises seen to date. The virus called ‘SARS-CoV-2’, causes coronavirus disease which was named ‘COVID-19’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). The speedy spread of this infection globally became a source of public worry and several unknowns regarding this new pathogen created a state of panic. Mass media became the major source of information about the novel coronavirus. Much like the previous pandemics of SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009), and MERS (2012), the media significantly contributed to the COVID-19 infodemics. In this review, we analyze the role of mass media and public health communications from December 31, 2019 to July 15, 2020, and make scientific inferences. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights multiple social, cultural, and economic issues arising from the media’s arguable role. The racial prejudices linked to the origin of the virus prevented collaborations among scientists to find a solution. Media coverage of coronavirus news during geographical lockdowns, extended quarantines, and financial and social hardships induced fear and caused psychological stress. Domestic and elderly abuse upsurged. The unscientific cures and unverified medicines endorsed by the politicians and fake doctors proved harmful. The media played a worldwide role in coronavirus disease tracking and updates through live updates dashboard. The media allowed for timely interventions by the Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), enabling a rapid and widespread reach of public health communications. We saw an upward trend for the promotion of health and hygiene practices worldwide by adaption of safe health practices such as increased hand washing, use of face coverings, and social distancing. Media reinforced illness-preventing guidelines daily, and people were encouraged to use telehealth to meet their healthcare needs. Mass media has an imperative role in today’s world and it can provide a unified platform for all public health communications, comprehensive healthcare education guidelines, and robust social distancing strategies while still maintaining social connections. It can enable equal access to healthcare, end discrimination, and social stigmatization. The role of media and public health communications must be understood and explored further as they will be an essential tool for combating COVID-19 and future outbreaks.
Highlights
BackgroundCOVID-19 is a global infectious disease that emerged from Wuhan in the Hubei province of China in December 2019
The speedy spread of this infection globally became a source of public worry and several unknowns regarding this new pathogen created a state of panic
Much like the previous pandemics of SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009), and MERS (2012), the media significantly contributed to the COVID-19 infodemics
Summary
COVID-19 is a global infectious disease that emerged from Wuhan in the Hubei province of China in December 2019. No checks were maintained initially, and many “fake doctors” started using prominent social media platforms for this purpose This did the damage of spreading erroneous information regarding the virus and persuaded beliefs in simple enigmatic treatments, causing people to become careless and assist the spread of the disease. Mapping the virus spread across the world helped with the uncertainty about its geographic spread and facilitated governments of various countries to adopt and begin timely actions This shows how the internet can play a positive role in crises and what it did in COVID-19. In just a small period, chloroquine was portrayed over social media as a wonder drug with a coronavirus cure, misleading the public about its effectiveness and rendering negative consequences This shows that politicians should not be allowed to provide scientific information to the general public, especially using the media as a platform
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