Corona: Expert calls for information about long-term consequences and prevention

An information campaign should be prepared regarding possible long-term Covid damage and booster vaccinations, said communications scientist Jakob-Moritz Eberl. Education about prevention is also necessary. Eberl, who is co-responsible for the Austrian Corona Panel (ACPP) at the Vienna Center for Electoral Research (VieCER), among other things, called for such preparatory measures to be taken now – also in the sense of active health communication.

Politicians should not wait until the number of infections increases again. Because then those responsible could only react too late or not at all. As a political decision-maker you always have to prepare for the “possibly worse scenario”. “The principle of hope must not lead to situations such as declaring the pandemic over or talking about a ‘summer like back then’,” Eberl referred to multiple misjudgments by politicians (e.g. with regard to the repeatedly expressed hope that there will be no further waves of infection). .

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“Persuasion is now difficult to expect”

From Eberl’s point of view, it would be necessary to inform citizens in a timely manner about the usefulness of booster vaccinations and to inform them about the options for doing so. Eberl does not want to leave statements made by Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) at the end of last year that large vaccination campaigns “don’t really make a difference” as they are: It is actually known from communication research that information campaigns “do not have a large persuasive (convincing, note.) effect”. “Persuasion, i.e. convincing people of a different position in the fourth year of the pandemic, is really difficult to expect,” says the scientist who works at the University of Vienna.

Nowadays it is no longer a question of convincing vaccination skeptics, but rather of convincing the vast majority of the population, who supported the majority of the measures. “And that’s about mobilization effects – that is, actually motivating those people who are fundamentally receptive.” In this regard, Eberl referred to a study he co-authored on “vaccination fatigue” (published in the journal “Nature” https://go.apa.at/incMabi6): The point is that it is not a given that people who have been vaccinated multiple times will get vaccinated Continue to get a booster shot if you don’t address them specifically. This also applies to risk groups. Eberl considers the very low vaccination rate with the current Covid vaccine to be “extremely problematic”.

• Also read: “Worrying increase” in measles cases in Europe

Call to wear FFP2 masks if necessary

If necessary – if the number of infections is higher – protective measures should also be called for, in particular the wearing of FFP2 masks. As an example, Eberl cited the possibility of corresponding announcements on public transport. The role model effect of politics is also important: It is of no use if the Minister of Health publicly calls for masks to be worn when visiting people at risk in phases of high risk of infection, but at the same time does “photo ops with highly vulnerable people” (e.g. in hospitals) without a mask (as before Christmas 2023 will happen). “It would also be good if politicians didn’t come to press conferences coughing; it’s about setting an example,” he said, recalling a press appearance by Chancellor Karl Nehammer in December.

Politicians should already convey the need for structural measures such as installing ventilation systems or setting up air purification devices. Such measures should be taken in public buildings such as kindergartens and schools, but also health facilities, the communications scientist agrees with calls for “clean air” from research representatives – such as those from Long Covid expert Kathryn Hoffmann from meduni Vienna. It’s about ensuring that “hubs in the infection process” such as schools “have the infrastructure in place – but also the knowledge and understanding of how to manage this infrastructure” (for example, teaching how to use CO2 measuring devices to monitor air quality are).

“Health literacy is particularly low in Austria”

Eberl does not share the assumption made by Health Minister Rauch at the turn of the year that the population would now have a high level of information about Covid anyway (e.g. booster vaccinations): “The so-called ‘health literacy’ is particularly low in Austria,” said the expert. “Here, too, an important foundation could be laid with information campaigns and references to relevant contact points.” It is repeatedly emphasized that the vaccination protects against severe disease – but not that the vaccination protection decreases over time. And: “The low-threshold vaccination offer is the be-all and end-all – that has completely disappeared.”

It is also important that those responsible pay more attention to the choice of words expressed in public and their consequences: trivializing terms such as “respiratory disease”, “immunization through infection”, “mild” or “end of pandemic” should be reflected. Because these could (even unintentionally) lead to false assumptions that the corona virus or the danger posed by it has now been averted, says Eberl.

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Above all, attention should be paid to the possible long-term damage of a Covid infection: An information campaign about Long/Post-Covid and “the extent to which Covid is a multi-organ disease that also attacks the brain itself would of course be an extremely important first step , which could be actively addressed now and can be the basis for everything else. Overall, the public discourse has shifted from the message ‘The measures saved lives’ to ‘The measures were stressful’. In this regard, Eberl also sees a challenge for the media: When terms like “respiratory disease” are used, it is important to take into account that Covid is not just a respiratory disease.

• More on this: Researchers: Long Covid detectable in the blood

Measles and low vaccination rates

The expert also emphasized that the steps mentioned – “be it investing in clean air or in trust in health measures” – would not only limit their positive impact to Covid. Rather, such investments would generally increase the health of the population, save costs in the health system and reduce sickness absence. “Investments are needed to better prepare us for the next wave of COVID. These investments are completely independent of the next wave of Covid, but are long-term investments in everyone’s health.”

As an example, Eberl referred to the currently increasing number of measles cases in Austria and the low vaccination rate, especially among small children: “The devastating health communication in recent years is also contributing to a decline in trust in other preventive measures, such as other vaccinations.” “The playing field was basically left to the anti-vaccination people – especially on social media – and not just with Covid, but also with influenza and measles”. “Active health communication” must “meet people where they are.” And that’s also on social media. The fact that nothing has been learned here from the last few years is “actually grotesque”.

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