Okay people, I need your help
We are going into the fourth year of YLE. Much to my surprise, the number of subscribers continues to grow, even as the emergency has subsided. This is amazing news.
At the same time, I’m burned out, particularly in writing about Covid-19. I seem to be good at making people mad. This was fine during an emergency when I thought it was useful, but now I’m just not convinced.
Regardless, it’s time for new energy.
This leaves me with important/exciting/stressful questions: What’s next for 2024? What does a public health newsletter from a random epidemiologist look like NOT during an international emergency? Is one possible, needed, or even useful? What would it be about, given that (*looks around*) everything in our lives has to do with public health?
My proposal for 2024 is simple: sustain interest in public health, even beyond a pandemic. Public health has historically been proud to work invisibly. However, we must become visible, relevant, and trusted in order to escape the cycle of panic and neglect.
I need your help to understand how. You have always driven YLE content. During the pandemic, 90% of the content was a response to your questions. Our two-way communication and relationship is why I think YLE has been successful.
So, please take a short survey HERE.
It’s quick—5 minutes to complete. It’s anonymous. And I have ensured it won’t crash due to traffic, like in previous years.
Last year, more than 77,000 people responded to the survey. Your answers were absolutely instrumental in helping me understand the YLE audience, the content you were most interested in, and how you used this information. It pushed me to write about public health beyond infectious diseases, like mass shootings, mental health, reproductive health, and more.
And just like in previous years, I’ll be excited to share the survey results with you again.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For your ongoing support. For challenging me to become a better scientist, communicator, and human. It’s been (and continues to be) the honor of a lifetime to provide this service to my community.
Love, Katelyn
“Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. During the day, she is a senior scientific consultant to several organizations. At night she writes this newsletter. Her main goal is to “translate” the ever-evolving public health world so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support this effort, subscribe below:
I really like your Covid coverage, even now, because everyone else has moved on. You’re my only source. So while you explore other topics, please don’t give up on Covid. Don’t let the haters drive you off the topic. That’s their goal. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Dr. Jetelina, I need you! I count on you and Dr. Rivers to tell me the truth and all of the truth. You have access to information that I don’t have (and I’m pretty good at ferreting out information and ignoring the “if it bleeds, it leads” or fingers in ears, “la la la,” or, “we’ll just tell them what we think they want to hear” media.) That includes information about COVID, which is still with us.
I know you have to take care of yourself, or we risk not having you write this column. Please know you are performing a badly needed public service and I and my family appreciate you! Love, Bee