Breaking Infectious Disease Stigma: The Unusual Case of COVID-19 Test Sharing on Twitter During the Pandemic

Abstract

The invisible nature of viruses renders them as having a high degree of fear attached due to the unknowability of infectivity and transmission during a pandemic. Fear and a lack of control which arise in this context can contribute to the emergence of stigma around infected individuals or those exposed. Stigma may exacerbate issues such as social isolation but also has detrimental impact on public health control measures. Individuals may avoid compliance with testing regimes and wait longer to present for diagnosis if stigma is perceived. Focussing on UK tweets of rapid COVID-19 tests (LFTs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, this work explores how sharing exceeds the functional diagnostic purpose of the tests themselves, and if there was any evidence of self-stigmatisation in testing for, or contracting, COVID-19. Among sharers, the images demonstrate little evidence that either COVID-19 was a socially stigmatised condition or reticence in sharing participation with the testing regime.