הקשר בין הגדרת מגיפה ותקשורת המידע המדעי: מחקר משווה בין מגיפות

Epidemics that took place over the past century led to the formulation of guidelines for responding to epidemics, and yet, the Coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) took the health authorities in various countries by surprise, as seen in the vague communication they disseminated at the onset of the epidemic regarding public health policy. This research employed searches in the academic literature about five epidemics to uncover expressions indicating disaster preparedness and concepts related to the severity of the epidemics. The results reveal a delay in recognizing COVID-19 as a cross-border pandemic, probably as a result of rare use of concepts relating to the severity of the epidemic, its spread and its contagiousness. The conclusion is that rapid detection and recognition of the epidemic may contribute to effective measures against it. This detection would be possible by clear scientific expressions in publications and avoidance of vagueness.