Earlier this week, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urged all Americans to get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus. According to the Associated Press she “unconditionally vouched for the safety of the vaccine, saying it ‘has been made exactly the same way seasonal vaccine has been made, year in and year out.’” Unfortunately, Americans don’t believe her.
In this week’s New Yorker magazine, Michael Specter writes: “A national poll conducted by the University of Michigan found that only 40% of Americans plan to vaccinate their children against H1N1 . . . Why would a parent decline to vaccinate his child [against the virus]? Half of those who participated in the poll expressed concern about possible side effects.”
Simply put, Americans don’t believe the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. We fear the unknown and distrust a vaccine some believe may have been manufactured too quickly and tested inadequately. This perception may not fit the facts, but it is widespread nonetheless.
HHS is Winning in Social Media, But . . .
Marketers and others have heaped praise on HHS and the government agencies it leads like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for their social media savvy. When you are able to quickly develop and deploy social tools like widgets, YouTube videos, Twitter and successfully integrate them into a widespread educational campaign, you deserve every accolade you get.
However, the landscape has changed. When CDC and HHS initially responded to the H1N1 epidemic earlier this year they had to answer three critical questions:
- What is this swine flu thing all about?
- How dangerous is this disease? Will it kill me or those I love?
- How can I prevent myself and my family from getting it?
HHS did a fantastic job providing people with the information they needed to answer these questions. Now, the agency must shift from educating to convincing people to change their behavior. This is where the rubber meets the road. Social media has the unprecedented ability to reach people where they live, work and play, but if people don’t believe what you are saying, your words are not going to penetrate.
Right now, people are more scared of the cure than the disease. Perhaps HHS and its partners should develop and publicize videos and photos of government and political leaders lining up to take the new H1N1 vaccine. If these simple, but powerful images were blasted across the airwaves, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other venues, they might do a lot to assuage people’s fears about the vaccine.
HHS can’t afford to win the social media game, but fail where it counts. It must do a better job of sparking positive behavior change that will ultimately keep Americans healthy.
(P.S. Personally, I’ve not decided whether to get vaccinated for H1N1. I’m one of the many Americans who is leery of new vaccine and want more information about its safety and efficacy before I make a final decision. Update: I was vaccinated for H1N1 recently, but this article gave me a bit of pause. Can anyone comment?)
Note: If you think this topic is worth discussing further, please see my previous post on Path McL (Meet, Chat and Learn) sessions. H1N1 communications is just one example of the types of topics we’d be debating and discussing during a typical McL. Take action now. Read about and vote on our idea here.
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@ahier: Nice post re: SM , H1N1 (http://tr.im/BedO); See our analysis of impact here: http://tinyurl.com/yzw5kjh #hcsm #hcmktg
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RT @blueeyepath H1N1: Is HHS Winning the Social Media Game, But Failing Where it Counts the Most? http://tinyurl.com/yzw5kjh
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This is a great post. I work at the Philadelphia Health Department, and am coordinating most of the public outreach around H1N1 influenza. Just today in our H1N1 planning meeting, I noted that I’m changing the tone of our social
media posts and website copy to reflect the reality that lots of people don’t want to get their flu shot. And simply comparing it to the regular flu shot doesn’t really work because most people don’t get that either.
To address fears and myths, I’ve started to make our social media into a conversation, soliciting questions and fears, and offering our epidemiologists as subject matter experts to respond. Instead of using social media as a bullhorn directly into people’s ears, which is essentially what CDC got rave reviews for doing, we should use it conversationally and respond directly to specific fears.
Just a thought,
Jim
RT @blueeyepath: #H1N1: Is HHS Winning the Social Media Game, But Failing Where it Counts the Most? http://tinyurl.com/yzw5kjh
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Continue the debate: #H1N1: Is HHS Winning the Social Media Game, But Failing Where it Counts the Most? http://twurl.nl/3888sn #hcmktg
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#H1N1 Vaccine RT @blueeyepath Is HHS Winning the Social Media Game, But Failing Where it Counts the Most? http://bit.ly/1aWatM #socialpulpit
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Good post. One thing this points out is the marketing maxim that information/education alone my be necessary, but not sufficient, to move the needle on behavior change. Some remedies? Use spokespeople various segments of the public find credible–including people that seem like themselves. Use more interpersonal (vs. mass) communication. Emphasize the benefits of the vaccine.
To you personally, I add that the H1N1 vaccine is made exactly like the seasonal flu vaccine, except it has the novel H1N1 virus particules, rather than the seasonal ones. (Think of it as your mom’s family soup recipe; made the same way, with loving care; but this time she put chicken in it, instead of beef!)
The H1N1 is actually being test MORE for safety than the seasonal flu vaccine, which has been used safely for years. If I were in a priority group for the vaccine, I would get it as soon as it was available!
Mike:
Thanks! I’ll take a look at the new site CDC put up about myths/facts about the H1N1 vaccine. If anyone else is looking for info about it, it can be found here: http://www.flu.gov/myths/index.html
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