Guidelines for Dialogue: Journalists and communicators, how to approach COVID-19

Abstract

The series Guidelines for Dialogue on COVID-19 Vaccination includes nine booklets in question-and-answer format for health personnel and vaccination teams fighting the disease on the front line, as well as for journalists and communicators in charge of the second essential front, that of information. The objective is to provide them with a simple, didactic and effective argument that facilitates the work of raising awareness of the importance of vaccines and simplifies the work of accompanying citizens in the process of making responsible decisions about health. To this end, these materials cover different topics, doubts and controversies about COVID-19, providing answers based on the most recent scientific evidence, in clear and accessible language, for use in health centers and in community vaccination campaigns. PAHO thus wishes to contribute to the effort that the Region of the Americas has undertaken against misinformation and the minority but counterproductive negationist theories that have become established in our societies and which, especially through the different forms of vaccine refusal, hinder the eradication of this pandemic. This guide presents a brief compilation of good practices for media professionals in order to avoid the spread of misinformation. In addition, it suggests certain themes with positive outcomes that could serve to draw public attention to the importance of vaccination.