What is Zoonotic

One of the strongest tools in a government's arsenal involves its relationship to information: how it collects it, who it collects it from, how it vets it, and then how it shapes and distributes it. This is especially so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a moment with precious effective vaccines available and a sub-population of U.S. citizens unwilling to be vaccinated in a liberal democracy where the “consent of the governed” is core. This work explores the affordances and constraints of the United States government (USG) in reaching out to the “late majority” and “laggards” to acquire vaccines that would protect their own lives and health and those of the peoples around them (from the many variants of SARS-CoV-2) in a time when children themselves are not vaccinated (while awaiting research and government approval for such interventions and proper dosages). This also explores, from the cross-cultural etic perspective, the strategies and tactics of the USG in this cyber messaging war based on a review of the journalistic literature.