I’m working on a political science discussion question and need a sample draft to help me understand better.

1. Respond to the 2 posts below : Disaster Communication Course : 2 posts (200 words each)
4. Do any of the following : —–
5. Ask a probing question
6. Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting
7. Offer and support an opinion
8. Validate an idea with your own experience
9. Make a suggestion
10. Expand on your colleague’s posting

Post 1:

hat measles is so prevalent worldwide is news to me. I hadn’t thought about it. MMR is one of the first shots we get in the States and boosters are easy to come by. I was surprised by the report. But I love the idea of the floating vaccine center!! That gives new meaning to “mobile vaccination site”! Simply being able to physically reach those in need is a major achievement.

The importance of getting the vaccine doesn’t seem to be nearly as difficult to communicate as actually getting the vaccine out. I understand first hand (now) how challenging it is to keep vaccines at the required temperatures. The Coast Guard had to find an extra $250k to buy special freezers for the COVID-19 vaccine. And we almost lost several hundred doses when the temp tail alerted that one shipment might have been out of range. Crisis averted, by the way!

This report gave the impression that vaccine campaigns only make a strong push when there is an outbreak, so it seems that it would be better to try to vaccinate people before there is an outbreak, but the remote parts of Africa are so very difficult to reach. Similar – though not nearly as challenging – is reaching people in the US in rural areas. They are so spread out, geographically. So I think the mobile vaccination sites are critical. War, migration and weak healthcare are not applicable in the US.

Although the story talked about vaccination programs in response to outbreaks, there is a push to vaccinate people against measles before that happens. And in the US, I think we’ll get there. Vaccinations are not new to us – tetanus, MMR, shingles, flu, small pox (at least for the military types). It’s just that COVID-19 is new and when it becomes more commonplace, the hesitancy will decrease. Fingers crossed.

It would be nice if we could apply creativity to other prevention measures, such as severe weather preparation. My goal, personally, is to limit the amount of responding we have to do by better preparing people to take care of themselves during an incident. Maybe mobile preparedness buses could work – get donated supplies and take them to the areas that need them most. I have no idea how much that would cost, or if the supplies would last until they’re actually needed, but I’m tempted to look into that for my new role at the sheriff’s office in strategic planning!

Post 2:

What contexts or situations in the United States could require the same sort of flexibility and creativity of response and communication (EG: loss of power due to natural disasters). Be as specific as you can.

We can all probably list the big ones: People needing to better understand why evacuating earlier is better than waiting till it’s hitting land or can be seen, during a hurricane. Why sheltering in your basement/cellar is important during tornado watches instead of waiting for the warning when it’s about to hit the house, again early and being prepared. Both of those situations change rapidly and without a lot of warning due to mother nature’s flare for the dramatic. Being flexible and able to get information across multiple platforms is the key, which would also entail some unique communication with fellow agencies.