Keeping America current on COVID-19
Keeping America current on COVID-19
April 7, 2020
If Rowan Family Medicine physician Dr. Jennifer Caudle is exhausted these days, she has dozens of good reasons. In just the past few weeks, Dr. Caudle has recorded nearly 50 regional and national media appearances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the RowanSOM associate professor has continued treating patients in her Washington Township office (via telemedicine lately due to COVID-19) and has posted daily COVID-19 videos and updates on Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms.
“With the 24-hour news cycle, I try to always be available so that I can do my part to help people understand what’s going on,” Dr. Caudle says, noting that some of her appearances include a FOX News interviews that broadcast live between 1-4 a.m. EST.
Even before the pandemic struck, Dr. Caudle was one of America’s most recognizable health experts with hundreds of national media appearances on FOX News, CNN, The Dr. Oz Show, Rachel Ray and others. She was also among the first health care experts to begin talking with the media about the imminent dangers of the coronavirus.
“Early on, when I saw the reports of what was happening in China and how it spread to nearby countries, I knew we were dealing with something we just didn’t understand,” she recounts. “Then, the CDC said it was a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ this was going to reach our country.”
When she’s not seeing patients, supervising medical residents, answering requests to appear on television or radio programs, or replying to reporters’ questions for outlets like The New York Times or The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dr. Caudle continues communicating about the pandemic through her daily social media posts. Those posts are seen by countless people around the world, including more than 155,000 people who follow her on Facebook and more than 27,000 Instagram followers. One of her videos reached ‘viral’ status, attracting more than two million views.
In her video updates, Dr. Caudle covers a wide range of topics, from the most recent news about the virus and how people can best care for themselves, to debunking internet rumors about alleged cures for COVID-19. Among the myths she’s tackled are the rumor that the 5G network has caused coronavirus (it didn’t), that black people are immune to the virus (they aren’t), inhaling the steam from boiling ginger, garlic, oranges and salt is a home remedy (good for cuisine, but not a cure) and that blowing a hair dryer into your nostrils will kill the virus (it won’t and please don’t do this, she says).
“In a crisis like this, when what we know can change daily or even hourly, people need accurate information they can trust,” Dr. Caudle explains. “In my videos I work to give accurate information, but I also try to be positive as well, because we also need hope at this time.”
One of the few health care professionals who provides daily updates on the coronavirus, Dr. Caudle says her social media audience helps determine her topics.
“I rely on my audience to tell me what to cover. Their reactions and shares, as well as the questions they ask, tell me what I should be doing,” she says.
Keeping current with reliable COVID-19 information from Dr. Caudle is just a click away. You can find her through the following links: