11:44 am
Swine Flu: Not Helping
From the front page of the print edition of today’s WaPo:
The United States declared a “public health emergency” yesterday as countries from New Zealand to Scotland investigated suspected cases of illness that they feared might be a strain of swine flu that has been identified in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
As of yesterday, however, no confirmed cases of the newly emerged flu strain had been found outside those three countries. Many of the people under observation around the world reported recent travel to Mexico.
With the U.S. announcement, civilian and military stockpiles of antiviral drugs were being readied for rapid distribution in the event that transmission of swine flu virus accelerates. The declaration also called for greater vigilance at border crossings and in airports for travelers who are coughing or appear ill.
Those steps fell far short of those that could be invoked in a confirmed pandemic, which could include restricting travel, actively screening travelers for fever or illness, quarantining the sick, closing schools and banning public gatherings.
This is a messaging disaster. The average reader is not attuned to nuance. What they’re going to see is “emergency,” “stockpiles,” “vigilance,” “pandemic,” “restricting travel,” “quarantine,” “closing schools,” and “banning public gatherings.”
To be clear, it’s not the job of WaPo to frame its reporting in a way that the general public will find reassuring. But it should be their responsibility not to make things worse. Yes, WHO today announced that there are more cases in the U.S. than originally thought. The key here right now, however, is that press coverage doesn’t spark the kind of panic that gets people so freaked out that the country grinds to a halt.
To risk sounding like a parody, it’s time to remain calm, and to let authorities do their job. The WHO, CDC, and other institutions have been through this before, and thanks to the SARS and bird flu epidemics, they have contingency plans in place for just such a development.