Beating the Measles

Last week, my things-to-do-list was dealt a death-blow by an outbreak of the measles in Alachua County -- home to the largest community of ISKCON devotees in North America.

Apparently, a devotee young person came back from India with the disease and spread it to three others (also all devotees). Most people are vaccinated so you hardly ever hear of anyone getting measles here anymore, but some people do choose not to get the vaccine. Krishna consciousness doesn't prohibit immunization, and so it is a personal decision whether or not to get the vaccine or vaccinate your child. Some devotees feel that taking the vaccine (which is usually made from non-vegetarian ingredients) is unacceptable and abstain. Others choose not to get vaccines on principal, because they are worried about possible side-effects.

Still, outbreaks are pretty uncommon (this was the first one in Alachua in 20 years) and the story made the (local) news pretty fast. Since nearby Gainesville hosts the successful Krishna Lunch program at University of Florida, and since at least one of the measles-carrying devotees is a UF student, the media began to report on a link between the lunch program and the spread of the disease (massive food serve-out + highly contagious disease + the potential for a campus full of infected, itchy, teenagers = juicy angle). We feared that the spread of wrong information and ensuing panic could lead to some bad blood between the Krishna devotees and the rest of the UF community.

In communications and public relations, a situation like this falls into the category known as crisis communications. Crises -- whether measles or financial mismanagement or scandals or whatever -- happen to every organization, and communicators must deal with them. You don't expect them, you can't help them, and boy oh boy -- you sure don't want them. But you can and should plan for them. That means having a crisis communications plan ready to go.

So how do you respond the next time your community gets hit by a measles (or worse)?

1. Express your concern and willingness to work with the proper authorities and do whatever you can to help. Actually do it.
   
2. Acknowledge the facts as you know them so far, and own up to what you don't know. Don't hide, distort, or lie in any way. As communications guru often cite: "Tell it all, tell it fast, tell the truth."
   
3. Clarify misunderstandings or erroneous information. Offer facts and updated information in their place.
   
4. Follow up and follow through. Work with the media, not against them; continue to make yourself a reliable resource-- even after the initial wave of interest has passed.
   

Although we really need to have a proper functioning crisis communications kit, we tried our best to respond by following this model, and the results have been fairly positive so far. A radio show reported that the Hare Krishnas were setting the record straight, and some local papers also reported our concern, willingness to help, and the clarifications we offered.

In the end, I guess the measles aren't the worst thing that could happen to an organization, and at least it provided us with some on-the-job training in crisis communications.

Crisis averted -- for now. I think I'll go back to my regularly-scheduled tasks, until an ISKCON temple somewhere comes down with a bad case of rubella.