Flu Gotcha Idiocy
A foolishly typical and predictable story about the swine flu crisis caught The Mule’s eye late last week and caused his blood to boil.
Three reasons for the temperature rise. The story was knee-jerk journalism at its very worst, centered on whether there’d be a citizen backlash over public health officials ‘crying wolf� about the threat posed by the H1N1 flu virus, a genetically exotic mutant that outflanks the human immune system and renders the current flu vaccines impotent. There was this lethally premature subtext � the latest health crisis is over, folks, and officials alarmed us for nothing.
The piece also lumped together the warp-speed hype of the 24/7 blogosphere and TV news cycle with the measured warnings about the very real dangers of pandemic flu from public officials. Calm but stern and serious was the demeanor of most everyone in officialdom The Mule eyeballed, from Smooth Barry, the World Health Organization and CDC officials to state public health chieftains.
During every press conference The Mule monitored, public officials have stated the risks and given sound reasons for making moves such as shutting down a school � turns out kids are natural incubators, promiscuous socializers and shed flu virus far longer than adults, so it’s smart to close a potential flu factory once the virus is detected.
Unlike the yammering idiots on the furniture what talks, officials haven’t hammered the panic button or poured Jet A fuel on the fear factor. And unlike their counterparts in Egypt, they haven’t ordered up the mass slaughter of pigs. Instead, they’ve been very frank about the worst that could happen � another 1918 Spanish flu nightmare, killing millions � and the potential that this threat could fizzle out, making all this public health ramp-up unnecessary. The Mule was mightily impressed with Smooth Barry’s grasp and clear, calm outlining of these very parameters during one C-SPAN broadcast of a Cabinet meeting presser.
As The Mule has preached in a previous post, we’ve caught a lucky break � so far. Because the genetic dice just happened to roll our way, this potential killer has turned out to be as mild or milder than the seasonal flu viruses we all know and love. Wally Cox instead of Hannibal Lecter. However, Wally may well mutate into something far deadlier and come roaring back this fall, as Smooth Barry and others have calmly noted. And we will still be as wide open to such an attack as we are right now � no natural immunity to an exotic hellspawn, no vaccine for six months after it first emerges, no guarantees that anti-viral drugs will work as well on a future mutation as they have on the current version.
Given those stark realities, public health officials have very little in the weapons locker other than vigilant monitoring, using the fastest electronic connections to pick up signs of an outbreak from far-flung hospitals, clinics and doctors� offices, and old-time social controls such as quarantine and a shut down of public places where the flu might be easily spread. There’s also the time-honored campaign of raising public awareness � wash your hands, don’t sneeze on your friends and other common sense bromides. That’s all they’ve got, folks.
Social controls are blunt instruments with a limited utility. It’s the old horse and barn door dilemma. You sure as hell don’t want to wait too long before slamming that door � otherwise, what’s the point? The virus is galloping toward greener pastures. But you must also weigh the chaos to commerce if you act too early and start shutting down malls, airports, border crossings and hotels before you have firm evidence of the virus� presence. A key point in the middle of the worst economic crisis this side of the Great Depression.
Still, health officials know full well they have to run that risk in order to use those blunt instruments. And public panic is a byproduct of raising public awareness. Unfortunately, so is getting slammed for ‘crying wolf.� Of course, the same folks � citizens and gerbilists alike � who point the wolf finger at public health officials now will be damning them for not doing enough if Wally turns into Hannibal and starts killing thousands or millions.
Saith The Mule: Play that wolf music as loud as you can, folks. And Joe Citizen better listen long and hard. Better that than letting people die or getting yourself dead.
