LAUSR

The purpose of this study is to foster an understanding of the safety, science, and political polarization issues public health officials (PHOs) must navigate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study analyzed posts on two social media outlets, Twitter and Reddit, to understand how political polarization impacted sensemaking around COVID-19. Qualitative analysis revealed that sensemaking around COVID-19 encompasses the following narratives: (a) the concept of public health is ambiguous, (b) political polarization causes burnout amongst PHOs, and (c) political polarization influences sensemaking. The conceptualization of politics was explored and the following themes were found: (d) politics can override public health decisions, (e) politics equates to death and other negative outcomes, (f) politics directly relates to the spreading of misinformation and disinformation, and (g) politics is used as a catch-all for sensemaking about issues in the pandemic that were viewed negatively. We then discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.