A message to 'influencers': With status comes responsibility, duh!

The NPC Podcast is back for another season. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Kevin Leshuk. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma

⇒ Issue #125 (In numerology, 125 represents building and business.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 10/21: 206,349*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 10/21: 9,849*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 10/21: 40,835,340*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 10/21: 1,125,656*

October 21, 2020—Hello, Curveflatteners. As you read this I am likely already in full swing to play my role in running the first session of this year's National Pharmaceutical Congress. This year formatted as a series of three weekly webinars, the Congress is a venue for leaders in the pharmaceutical industry to educate and inform their colleagues and peers—to influence the future of their industry, one might say.

Influence has been commodified, and we find ourselves in a world where 'Influencer' is now a profession—the 'famous-for-being-famous' role refined to its core. However, while this sort of high visibility position provides the power to distribute messaging quickly and widely—particularly in our more digitally-dependent, shut-in pandemic world—it doesn't automatically come with the ability to discern good from bad messages to spread.

Ukrainian fitness influencer Dmitriy Stuzhuk has learned this in in the worst possible way. Stuzhuk caught Covid-19 on a trip to Turkey and was later hospitalized on return to Ukraine, the Toronto Sun reports. From his hospital bed, Stuzhuk posted to Instagram: “I was one who thought that Covid does not exist…until I got sick.” (At which point he switched to ALL CAPS.)

“COVID-19 IS NOT A SHORT-LIVED DISEASE! And it is heavy.”

Later, his ex-wife posted that cardiovascular complications of the disease had taken Stuzhuk's life.

More positively, an initiative from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), starting in April of this year, used social media influencers to spread health information about the pandemic throughout the state. 

While the organizers of the initiative noted that it was important to continually monitor their influencer team to ensure the only current, accurate information was being distributed. 

Videos from the selected influencers amassed 33.5 million views on TikTok and 1.1 million views on Instagram, reaching a total of 3.3 million users and 37.4 million engagements across all social media platforms by mid-September.

The takeaway from these two cases, I think, is that this is a channel that can distribute an idea quickly, so we should all take steps to ensure we are putting forward the most factually correct ideas we can.

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly has launched. It's your weekly briefing on topics pertinent to healthcare marketers and executives published in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions. From Chronicle Companies, organizers of the 14th National Pharmaceutical Congress, which begins next Wednesday, Oct. 21. More info at pharmacongress.info

COVID CHRONICLE 10-21-20

• Researchers from Temple University in Philadelphia have identified predictive criteria that could help identify which Covid-19 patients are at risk of experiencing a cytokine storm. In their paper, they write: “The criteria can be readily used in clinical practice to determine the need for an early therapeutic regimen, block the hyperimmune response and possibly decrease mortality.” The findings were published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 
  
• In a recent study, common over-the-counter nasal rinses and mouthwashes were able to inactivate infectious human coronaviruses carried in the mouth and nose. The paper's authors suggest their findings show that the use of these products could potentially be a tool to reduce person-to-person transmission.   
  
  
• Perhaps surprisingly, the steps taken to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in the Netherlands may have also resulted in a reduction in the incidence of preterm birth in that country. In a paper published in The Lancet, researchers report on findings, using data on 1,599,547 singleton neonates, including 56,720 births that occurred after implementation of that nation's Covid-19 mitigation measures on March 9, 2020. The data showed a substantial reduction in preterm births in the months after the measures came into effect.

WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

It is all hands on deck for the National Pharmaceutical Congress today and the sessions on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. This has always been a high point in the year, as the talks are engaging and practical for anyone in the pharmaceutical business.

TONIGHT WE ARE HAVING

Roast beef sandwiches on crusty buns, with olive-herb mustard and mixed greens. I may be in a rush, but that's no reason to not put in some effort.

LATER I AM LISTENING TO

Postmodern Jukebox's interpretation of “I'll be There for You” by The Rembrandts. One of my favorite musical groups to catch live, PMJ interprets modern music in the styles of Blues and Jazz from the first half of the 20th century. In this piece, they do a medley of interpretations of the iconic Friends theme song in the style of each decade from 1920 to 1990, with an assist from The Rembrandts themselves.

COMING UP ON THURSDAY

Tomorrow my colleague Kylie Rebernik will be there for you with more of the latest Covid-19 news. If you are interested in the National Pharmaceutical Congress, there is still time to register. Go to: http://pharmacongress.info/register.