Opinion | As Covid-19 pandemic shows, public health messaging done badly is a danger to all

From the U-turn on face masks to vaccine scepticism, good public health communication is vital in saving lives

The challenge in intervention is to focus on dialogue and collective decision-making, rather than coercion

Reading Time:3 minutes

A vaccination centre has been set up at the Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay district. As media stories emerge about risks, the public health community must step forward to participate in the conversation. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 8:30am, 14 Mar 2021Updated: 8:30am, 14 Mar 2021

Public health messaging is fraught with danger. We saw this last year with the disastrous communication around face masks, in which ministers in Western countries undermined confidence in mask-wearing, most likely due to supply issues after failing to control sales or stockpile.

When governments finally changed their stance and started advocating the use of masks, they had to battle against many of the unfounded claims that they had propagated, for instance, that masks would lead to a false sense of security. Their 180-degree turn inevitably made the task of changing public behaviour that much more difficult.

In Hong Kong, behaviour change was immediate. With the experience of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, better known as Sars, there was no public hesitation in vigilantly adopting masks and distancing practices. Like an immune system that had dealt with a similar threat and knew what to do, the Hong Kong community reacted immediately, setting an example for the world. Vaccines, however, present new territory.

As Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said last week upon news of a decline in vaccine bookings, public hesitation is understandable. The speed of vaccine development is unprecedented. The Hong Kong public has low trust in the authorities, and the 2003 Sars outbreak did not provide a mass vaccination precedent. Then there are the debates about particular vaccines.

As media stories emerge about risks, the public health community must step forward to participate in the conversation. Good communication is based on trust and mutual understanding. Where there are genuine concerns, these should be respected and acknowledged rather than jeered at or dismissed.

The health minister was right, therefore, not to place pressure on the public, and to encourage them to discuss further with their family doctors.

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Opinion | As Covid-19 pandemic shows, public health messaging done badly is a danger to all

From the U-turn on face masks to vaccine scepticism, good public health communication is vital in saving lives The challenge in intervention is to focus on dialogue and collective decision-making, rather than coercion

From the U-turn on face masks to vaccine scepticism, good public health communication is vital in saving lives

The challenge in intervention is to focus on dialogue and collective decision-making, rather than coercion