ABSTRACT
The media is an important source of public information with mass media particularly playing a key role in times of crises and disasters. The role played by the media becomes even more crucial when there is a global pandemic such as COVID-19. In the wake of an outbreak, the media has the critical role of passing information, reporting, and raising awareness. In Kenya, vernacular radio stations have an important responsibility of disseminating information to a wide section of the citizenry in vernacular languages. COVID-19 being a new pandemic, brings with it new concepts and terminology which may not be readily available in vernacular languages, but which vernacular radio stations must report and create awareness about in local languages. On one hand, this makes information available to everyone, especially those who do not understand English, which is the language that the Government of Kenya and many non-governmental bodies use to communicate about the disease. On the other hand, an attempt by these vernacular radio stations to explain this new disease in vernacular languages by translating concepts related to it often results in reportage that carries misconceptions about the disease that may lead to either downplaying the gravity of the pandemic or unnecessary panic escalation. Based on the results of content analysis of the various radio programmes, interviews and focus group discussions with radio presenters, this chapter discusses how community vernacular radio stations reported on the Corona Virus Disease, by examining the techniques the presenters used in translating novel, specialised, and technical vocabulary related to COVID-19, the losses of meaning brought about by these techniques and how this encouraged or discouraged behaviour change among listeners. It recommends a more pragmatic and communicative approach to medical translation in general, and to the pandemic in particular, as a means of ensuring that not much is lost during the translation process. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.