The last century has brought a handful of global pandemics, including the Spanish Influenza, HIV/AIDS, and most recently, COVID-19. These events have deeply impacted the world’s welfare and infrastructure, highlighting the need for efficient pandemic preparedness and response measures.
In this brief, Bhatt compares the public’s behavior and response to these pandemics with a focus on health communication, political tension, and the rise of social media. Bhatt notes the benefits of social media in disseminating health information while underscoring the divisiveness, hate mongering, and misinformation that can breed in the online sphere, inspecting how modern communications have impacted measures of pandemic preparedness and response.