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. 2020 Nov 19;71(16):2184-2186.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa553.

Social Media and the New World of Scientific Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Simon Pollett  1 , Caitlin Rivers  2
Affiliations

Social Media and the New World of Scientific Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Simon Pollett et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The human and social toll of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has already spurred several major public health "lessons learned," and the theme of effective and responsible scientific communication is among them. We propose that Twitter has played a fundamental-but often precarious-role in permitting real-time global communication between scientists during the COVID-19 epidemic, on a scale not seen before. Here, we discuss 3 key facets to Twitter-enabled scientific exchange during public health emergencies, including some major drawbacks. This discussion also serves as a succinct primer on some of the pivotal epidemiological analyses (and their communication) during the early phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, as seen through the lens of a Twitter feed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Twitter; scientific communication; social media.

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