Social Stigma and COVID-19 Aiden Kwon The COVID-19 virus has had many people avoiding or prejudicing certain people. We dive deeply into the topic of social stigma today. What is social stigma? In the context of health, social stigma is the negative association between a person/race/group, their characteristics, or a specific disease. Pandemic-wise, this means many people are prejudiced, stereotyped, or discriminated against. What emotions can social stigma cause? Such treatment that is associated with social stigma can cause negativity amongst those with the disease, as well as their close relatives. COVID-19 is the root cause of many social stigma causes today, especially to people who have had/has been in contact with the virus. This can cause people who have the virus to try to sheer up their disease in order to prevent discriminatory acts. How can we terminate social stigma? While it is **almost** impossible to completely erase social stigma from its tracks, there are a few simple actions we can take to help encourage a healthy school environment. DO: Remain confidentiality (Don’t violate HIPAA!) Be very vague when talking about a person with COVID-19 I.e: “he MAY have COVID-19” or “he has an ILLNESS” Report racial comments/slurs about COVID-19 to a staff member Racial comments are but not limited to : “Bat face” “Wuhan Virus” “Asian virus” “China virus” (Basically anything that is targeted toward a certain ethnicity/group that is offensive) Talk about people “contracting” or “acquiring” COVID-19 (Remember to keep confidentiality!) Inform your community about accurate, scientifically proven COVID-19 information DON’T: Refer to people with the virus as “victims” or “cases” Talk about “COVID-19 suspects Dwell on the negative Talk about “transmitting others”, “infecting others”, or “spreading the virus” as this can cause unnecessary release of confidential health information, and can also cause inflamed negative attention and assigns blame. Talk about/spread dehumanizing terminology (AKA derogatory language about COVID-19 or people who have contracted the virus). When you spread dehumanizing terminology, you are feeding others with negativity and stigma. Spread unconfirmed rumors (Information that is not fact-checked/proved by the WHO or CDC) (i.e: “The vaccine has a microchip in it!”) The Golden Frog Press accepts any and all feedback. If you find any errors, misinformation, or need to contact us, feel free to do so at emailus@thegoldenfrogpress.freshdesk.com