Caden McCloughan
Coms 418
25 October 2021
Professor
The Brief Reflection
When an unfamiliar virus such as covid 19 Reaches the population and begins to
outbreak leading to the hospitalization of citizens as well as causing death, this creates a high
level of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty among the population. Situations like this put a newfound
importance on communication to mitigate panic and encourage appropriate action. While
reflecting on the beginning stages of Covid, I immediately am reminded of the communication
challenges created by the pandemic. The citizens knew nothing about the disease since it was
unfamiliar, and our health professionals faced many challenges due to them being unfamiliar
with the disease as well along with the science and information available constantly adjusting on
the fly. In situations such as Covid, national leadership is a must as stated in the following
article,
Because of their infrequent nature, emergencies create high levels of uncertainty and an
unstable environment. People need information on basic needs, like food, water, and
shelter, as well as guidance on how to protect their health and safety and limit morbidity
and mortality. Effective communication from leadership is crucial in building trust in the
response and ensuring compliance with key public health measures; failure to do so can
have lasting, far-reaching consequences. (Molly A. Sauer, Shaun Truelove, Amelia K.
Gerste, and Rupali J. Limaye.Health Security.Feb 2021.65-74.)
When reflecting on the pandemic, there were clear examples of successful national leadership, as
well as leadership that failed.
There is no question that the fast pace and extent of the coronavirus poses tremendous
challenges for leaders, which makes it easy to understand why so many leaders have struggled
with positive actions and sufficient communication. However, it is unfair to think that poor
communication is all citizens can expect in challenging times. One of the first examples of strong
leadership that came during the pandemic was when NBA commissioner Adam Silver decided to
suspend the NBA season until further notice which came at the surprise of many as the severity
of pandemic was still in question to many. This decision was one of the first big decisions that
had to be made regarding the virus outside of China. Silver made this decision on March 11 and
on that same day, the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic. In a time where
people didn’t know much about the virus, Silver showed tremendous leadership by taking early
action and suspending the season which certainly had an affect altering the virus as it prevented
thousands of fans packing indoor arenas with a pandemic on the rise. Many other sports then
followed Silvers decision such as the NCAA deciding to cancel the famous March Madness
tournament. Another strong example of successful communication came from New Zealand
prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who on March 21 delivered a televised statement to the nation
that introduced a Covif-19 alert system which set clear and understandable guidelines how the
New Zealand government would step up its response to covid along with what citizens needed to
do as infection rates rose. When reflecting on the United States response to Covid, I look back on
our biggest leader Donald Trump, our president, and how he responded to Covid in a time of
uncertainty. Many times, the president was seen either downplaying or arguing with what the
\health officials were stating, which led to the confusion of many citizens. At one point, “Trump
was asked at a press conference if he agreed that the CDC was “exaggerating the threat of
coronavirus” to “weaponize” it and “hurt you politically.” He replied, “I think they are. And I’d
like it to stop.” (Dryer, O. 2020) When many other countries were addressing their public on a
clear plan, the United States had its leader making conflicting statements with health officials
which presented a failure in attempt to communicate successfully among the people in the
United States.
Works Cited:
Molly A. Sauer, Shaun Truelove, Amelia K. Gerste, and Rupali J. Limaye.Health Security.Feb
2021.65-74.
Dyer, O. (2020). Trump claims public health warnings on covid-19 are a conspiracy against
him. BMJ, M941. doi:10.1136/bmj.m941