COVID-19 caused a global pandemic with high morbidity and mortality in most countries in the world, developed and developing. Awareness and prevention are key to preventing the spread of this disease.

This study assessed the knowledge about awareness and prevention of COVID-19 among Bangladeshi Americans and Bangladeshis. Data were collected with an online survey during February-March 2020 in the United States (US) and Bangladesh (BD). Two bilingual (English and Bengali) questionnaires (Google Form) were disseminated through emails and social media (Facebook).

The study has 1,604 respondents (US=850, BD=754). The respondents are country-wide (US=39 states; BD=7 divisions). The majority of the respondents are ages 18-34 years (US 74%, BD 70%). When asked who should prepare and take action for preventing Covid-19, the response differed greatly by country: Bangladeshis said that this is responsibility of healthcare facilities but Bangladeshi Americans said everyone is responsible - healthcare facilities (US 89%, BD 91%), home (US 87%, BD 71%), K-12 schools (US 78%, BD 57%), universities (US 82%, BD 61%), workplaces (US 86%, BD 61%), faith-based organizations (US 70%, BD 49%). Top source of information was social media (US 35%, BD 53%); second largest source was CDC for Bangladeshi Americans (30%) and websites for Bangladeshis (21%). In both populations only 3% received information from physicians and <1% from faith-based organizations.

It is critical to understand these similarities and differences in these two populations to take appropriate steps to prevent spread of Covid-19. Social media is an important tool for raising awareness about Covid-19 prevention.