Editor's Note: After 40+ years as a risk communication consultant, Dr. Sandman came out of retirement in January 2020 to try to help with pandemic risk communication.
Following is an abridged form of a commentary published on his website Aug 4, 2020, with new material added. A reporter recently asked me what I consider "the single biggest communication failure" of public health experts and officials with regard to COVID-19.
It took me a few weeks to think it through, but I now have a five-part answer to this question.Let me state the obvious at the outset: Public health professionals are not single-handedly responsible for the dire COVID-19 situation in which the United States finds itself.