Feature
Secure Messaging and Information Sharing
As we continue to navigate COVID, we find ourselves transitioning to a new PIO phase of the pandemic. Bill Suthard Vaccination sites are popping up all over the country; with mass vaccination sites in the works as well. Clear, concise communications to your customers and targeted audience is extremely important, especially now. As many observed, messaging in the early days of vaccination availability were very rushed, clumsy and at times confusing. Additionally, many PR/ PIO errors were made in both the government and the private sectors. Rushing to put a message out leads
to errors, miss interpretations and even operational security concerns, which is our topic this quarter.
Celebrating the Vaccine As soon as the vaccine arrived, media rushed to cover the story. Looking for imaging of the vaccines arriving at hospitals and health departments. PR/Spokespersons rushed to post images of vaccination operations and filled their social media feeds with imaging, video and at times, personal information that created some operational concerns. In Pinellas County Florida, someone set up and shared, via multiple platforms, a fake vaccination registration site. Florida announced early into the vaccination process that many of their counties were experiencing some sort of technology issue. I believe that was a similar issue across the country. Once vaccinations began to flow, we began to see an influx of folks posting their vaccination cards publicly — social media, news interviews etc. Information shared publicly included full names and birthdates, with some folks even posting their Social Security
26 Spring • 2021
www.carolinafirejournal.com
Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal
