Swine Flu Action Items for Public Information Officers

With the Department of Health and Human Services declaring a public health emergency with several confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States, here are 7 things Emergency Response Coordinators and Public Information Officers need to do immediately.

Create a Google Alert for Swine Flu

Google allows users to create custom “alerts” for topic of their choosing. Click this link and create an alert for “swine flu.” This will enable you to have a comprehensive overview of the situation.

Google Maps also has this great pictorial representation of the outbreak.

Subscribe to CDC and WHO News Feeds

The most accurate information on Swine Flu is coming from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Here are links to their official RSS feeds on the topic.

• http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/rss/
• http://www.who.int/feeds/entity/csr/disease/swineflu/en/rss.xml

Add the HHS Widget to Your Website

Here is an easy way to provide accurate information on your website without reinventing the wheel.

• http://www.hhs.gov/web/library/index.html#HHSWidgets

Open a Twitter Account

In my White Paper Using Social Media in a Public Health Emergency, I argue that public health departments should incorporate social media into their communication plans. The Swine Flu event has generated great case examples of how to distribute information to a wide audience over a short time.

Here is who I am following on Twitter.

1. @CDCEmergency – CDC’s official Twitter account
2. @Veratect – a worldwide disease surveillance company
3. @BirdFluGov – HHS’s official Twitter account
4. @BreakingNews – provides breaking news alerts from all over the world
5. @jnwilliams76 – a risk communications contractor for the CDC
6. #SwineFlu – the “official” hash tag that filters all of the Swine Flu conversations

More extensive list at In Case of Emergency.

Review Prepared Press Releases

Your All-Hazard Communications Plan should already have prepared press releases concerning Avian Flu. Pull them out of your plan and modify them for Swine Flu in the event you have to provide localized information.

Prepare Press Releases

In the event your Epi group finds a case of H1N1 in your community, you should begin writing press releases in the event of a suspected case, confirmed case, hospitalization, or death. It is better to have these messages prepared ahead of time than to rush something through while the national news media is holding on Line 2.

Reach Out to Assignment Desks

Now is the time to reach out to your local news organizations to find out how interested they are in this case. It is always a good idea to know what the assignment editors are thinking with respect to a national crisis that could become a local story in a matter of hours.

Off the record, of course, do some fact finding so you can be prepared in the event you have to do something.

Here are other articles I have written on this topic:

• New Campaign for Will County Health Department
• The Art of Cleaning Up a Mess
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 10: Team Briefing
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 7: Social Media Checklist
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 6: Reporters’ Notebook
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 5: Test Your Call Tree
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 4: Notify Stakeholders
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 3: Verify Your Contacts
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 2: Your Message
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 1: Influenza Update