Communications
Creating
Your Pre-Event Communications
CDC’s
Smallpox Preparedness Communication Goals
One of the primary
CDC preparedness goals is to increase awareness and understanding
of smallpox preparedness activities, including the recommendations
on who should be vaccinated. The preparedness activities were developed
to:
- Help instill
and educate the public – or help instill and extend public
confidence in national, state and local ability to respond to
and effectively manage a smallpox release or outbreak.
- Provide accurate,
consistent, timely and comprehensive information and resources.
We have learned that there are many audiences and these audiences
need to have a wide range of materials.
- Assist state,
local and health care professional communication efforts.
Assumptions
in the development of the CDC Smallpox Preparedness Communication
Plans were that:
- Most people,
including health care providers, need more information about
smallpox disease, smallpox vaccine, and smallpox vaccination.
- Smallpox
vaccinations will generate interests and requests for information
from many people. This includes the public, the media, and the
families of those affected. There will be a lot of people interested
in what smallpox is, a lot of people interested in the specifics
of smallpox vaccination, and we need to be prepared to answer
and respond to requests from a lot of different sources.
- Many systems
will be needed to distribute our messages, to provide updates,
and to provide information to a wide range of people. One of
the things that will probably be invaluable in this effort is
developing partnerships and networks that can help get messages,
updates and materials to the intended target audiences.
- The first
serious adverse reactions – whether they are claimed or
real – will generate much local and national media attention
and public interest. People are going to want to know the specifics
about what happened, why the person may have had the adverse
reaction, and what is being done as a result of this report.
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