The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released an exercise scenario resource that examines risk communication challenges that could occur when medical countermeasures (MCMs) are provided during pandemics.

The SPARS Pandemic Scenario book describes an outbreak scenario in the future when a coronavirus spreads throughput the United States and more than 40 countries over a three-year period. For the scenario, an existing MCM is used for SPARS treatment and a new vaccine is under development. As part of the scenario, various communication challenges arise including those around risk communications, rumor control, message consistency, and media relations. The scenario book is arranged chronologically with a variety of chapters addressing different communication issues. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions to consider for addressing those issues.

The scenario book can be used by federal, state, or local public health planners, either individually or in group setting as part of a tabletop exercise, to examine the public health risk communication challenges associated with the distribution of MCMs during an infectious disease pandemic.