During a press briefing yesterday, the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack was imploring the media to stop calling this new potential pandemic virus swine flu.
"Q What is the point of monitoring the swine population? If you can't get this
flu from swine, why check swine at all?
SEC. VILSACK: Because it could impact and affect the
industry itself. This is more about the economics of it rather than the human
side and human illness side of it.
Q Is it because of the name "swine flu"?
I mean, you're not looking at horses or cows or anything else.
SEC. VILSACK: Just -- which is
precisely the reason why we have asked, and there has been a response to change
the name of this. This really isn't swine flu. It's H1N1 virus. That's very,
very important. And it is significant, because there are a lot of hardworking
families whose livelihood depends on us conveying this message of safety."
You can read the full transcript here.
(before the story of the woman who was chased by a bear and hit by a car) the anchors were calling this flu "H1N1" or, referring to it first as "Swine Flu" and then following it up with the preferred "H1N1." Perhaps this is an instance where getting control of the media message is actually serving people. This flu does not come from eating pork. If people think it does, they will stop buying pork and more economic fallout will ensue.
I can't help but be reminded of of the lawsuit the cattle industry brought against Oprah after she said she would never eat another burger and the price of beef fell . Is the person who started using the term swine flu afraid of similar litigation? The point of this story may be that when government, media and heavily lobbied industry get together the results are powerful. Still, with 91 people confirmed to have this flu the U.S. and one person dead, what's in a name?
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12 comments:
this morning on the view elisabeth hasselbeck said she would not eat pork because of the swine flu, she also stated that she STILL does not eat spinach because of the e.coli scare however long ago, she also is really really annoying in general.
i have to admit on a trip to homegoods yesterday i suddenly became fearful of the virus (but not pigs). . . sometimes i wish i didn't know about these things at all - would i be putting myself and family in danger or living a happier life sans undue neurosis?
It is a delicate balance that is for sure, especially when you have babies. Extremely disturbing though that a TV personality is helping keep misinformation alive. A lot of people listen to what Mrs Hasselbeck has to say, which though unfortunate in and of itself, can be really damaging in a public health situation like this. I am about to go to school now and can't help but be concerned about riding the subway, etc. But, the fact of the matter is, it is a flu similar to other flus and the same precautions you would take when the flu is going around is what you should be doing now. Hand sanitizer is a beautiful thing!
I am similarly confused about how much of a threat the swine flu actually it. It is just so hard to differentiate the news from the hype whether you are watching tv or reading websites. I did find this google maps of swine flu cases informative
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=33.100745,-111.665039&spn=15.304831,17.490234&z=6
The news media is completely out of control with their sensationalized coverage of the swine flu. I am convinced that they will not be satisfied until they've created complete panic.
As for Elisabeth H. I think she has proved more than once that she is a completely uniformed idiot.
It was interesting to see Mayor Mike have a press conference in response to the press conference earlier by EU offcials who warned of travel to Mexico and US. He had to defend the saftey of NYC and deflect any cause for concern with the swine flu incidents in Queens. Just what already nervous and anxious NYers need is more potential for panic.
it is interesting to see how the media gets into our heads and effects our everyday actions as a result of their reporting. i myself have not so much been that comfortable riding the nyc subway since Sept. 11th, however this is what i need to do to get around town. the recent 'H1N1' epidemic (if i may use that word?) has deepened my discomfort level of riding the subway at this time given the spread of germs... even though i don't consider myself a huge germ-a-phobe.
The so-called "Spanish flu" which may have killed as many as 100 million people, and of which "swine flu" is a close descendant, did not originate in Spain either, but you don't see them complaining.
Coming soon: cupcake flu. And watch the cupcake lobby flex its flabby muscles and put the squeeze on the Obama's under-secretary of Baked Goods.
Last a friend and I discussed how much of a threat the virus actually is - and the level of hype surrounding it. The larger question became "is some hype required with public health 'emergencies' in order for the public to pay attention"? We didn't come to a definitive answer. Provided this doesn't turn into an episode of 24 - I can live with the current state of drama.
I understand the need to rename the outbreak, but couldn't we come up with something better than H1N1?
We should have had an America Idol vote-in on possible choices. Get the public involved - after all it is OUR health crisis... and H1N1 is just too hard to remember...
I think if people informed themselves and the media covered the truths just as much as the dramas of this situation (not just tagging on at the end of the report how you can get the flu and what precautions to take) I think we would still be calling it swine flu. Everyone knows it is from pigs anyways.
One other thing though...even though I am well informed that you can not get it from eating pork...this whole thing has gotten me freaked out to the point that I don't know if I could buy a pork roast right about now...I was in the grocery store the other day and did buy italian sausage (pork) but that was easier because the name pork is not in it. I know it is irrational!
I think part of the media's job these days is to make people irrational. Instead of insisting that the illnesses associated with eating pork in the developed world are food borne illness like trichinosis and listeria, the headlines just say "fear" and "pandemic" The important details about the genetic makeup of this virus are just some of the other important details often left out of the coverage (or given scant attention at the end of a segment) leaving people paranoid at the meat counter, scared to get on the subway and wearing useless surgical masks.
I hear you ELE! Isn't it crazy making that instead of changing the reporting they try to change the name! So not the point!
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