COVID-19 Communications: Sample Newsletter/Website Content

Sample article to help reinforce best practices in communicating about COVID-19 public health guidelines

[NAME OF ORGANIZATION] Partners with NFID and Other Health, Business, and Education Leaders to Establish Best Practices to Communicate about COVID-19

[NAME OF ORGANIZATION] joined the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) and more than 50 other leading organizations and agencies with the goal of sharing a framework to help leaders across sectors address key challenges in COVID-19 education, foster vaccine acceptance, and communicate clearly about the importance of following evidence-based prevention measures.

The framework, which was published in the report, COVID-19 Communications: Promoting Prevention Measures and Vaccine Confidence, offers a scalable approach with strategies and messaging for COVID-19 education and outreach efforts.

Among the issues addressed in the framework are barriers to adherence of recommended public health measures, lack of understanding of the risks and severity of the illness, misinformation and disinformation about prevention protocols (e.g., masks can be harmful to your health), and confusion about evolving guidelines that can result in a lack of adherence.

“While some systemic issues exist and cannot be addressed through communication alone, COVID-19 messaging can be more credible and effective by imparting information with respect, empathy, transparency, and equity,” said NFID Medical Director William Schaffner, MD.

Strategies to help build trust across audiences and motivate actions include:

• Communicate clearly and often
• Provide tailored and consistent information
• Acknowledge and address concerns
• Offer practical solutions and hope
• Counter misinformation
• Foster positive social norms
• Engage influencers and trusted messengers
• Collaborate across sectors

The complete framework with key principles for COVID-19 communications, along with tools and resources to help implement the framework, is available at: nfid.org/covid-19/covid-communication-tools/.