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medpundit |
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Tuesday, October 18, 2005The prospect of a flu pandemic does raise important issues that need to be addressed - such as how to enact a quarantine and how to best produce and distribute vaccines and medication. Those, however, are not what the press is covering. Instead there are stories about stocking up on Tamiflu (which in turn push up the stock of Tamiflu), and on the futility of Tamiflu. We get stories that predict billions will die, and that attempts to control it have been "futile", and that it's spreading like wildfire, to the point that the British are at war with foreign birds. You would think we are living in the end times. But we're really living in the confused times. We have just enough knowledge to make us suspect we should worry, but not enough knowledge to prevent that worry from morphing into hysteria. Although it isn't truly hysteria. My staff may be reluctant to eat chicken and turkey, but no one is banging on the doors for Tamiflu prescriptions. Most of the hysteria is coming from the media. No surprise there, given a choice between the sensational and the sober truth, they will always choose the sensational. Fortunately, the media's propensity for hysteria is understood by just about everyone who doesn't work in the media. Which is why my patients are asking reasonable questions and not worrying themselves to death over an epidemic that thus far is limited to birds- and may always remain thus. posted by Sydney on 10/18/2005 08:02:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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