April 2021 - The Epidemiology Monitor

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SPECIAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION ISSUE The Opportunities And Challenges Of Public Communication During The COVID-19 Pandemic A Conversation With Vanderbilt University’s William Schaffner---A “Go To” Communicator Par Excellence During the COVID pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health is undoubtedly the 2 most frequently appearing expert on TV and other media. Another much sought after spokesperson is Vanderbilt University’s William Schaffner, an infectious disease and epidemiology expert who served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at CDC and is currently Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy as well as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

communication tasks and challenges have changed during the COVID pandemic compared to communication challenges associated with past public health problems and what insights he could share with the epidemiology community. He did not hesitate in accepting our invitation, and below are his candid remarks about his approach to science, infectious disease, epidemiology and public health communication with the public. Epi Monitor: How did you come to play such an important and prominent role as the “go to person” for the NY Times and other publications and multiple media outlets on such a wide variety of science related topics?

Bill Schaffner served on the first advisory board for The Epidemiology Monitor and has been a longtime supporter of the newsletter since it first appeared 40 years ago.

Schaffner: Well, going way back to my youth, it's probably a theatrical

We wondered how Bill’s science April 2021

- Schaffner cont'd on page 2 •

Volume Forty Two •

Number Four

In This Issue -8Reprint The Science of Science Communication

-10Near Term Epi Calendar

-13Notes on People

-15Marketplace


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