Watching the events of the Mexican/swine/H1N1 flu unfold over the past several weeks, I am consistently puzzled by the actions taken by the US government and the American mainstream media.
For starters, many pandemics are named based on their geographic location. Instead of calling it the Mexican flu since Mexico appears to be the origin of the outbreak, our federal government and the media referred to it as the swine flu. Was it labeled in this manner to be politically correct in deference to the illegal alien community? Some travelers returning to the US from Mexico in mid-April were surprised when they stepped off the plane and were only handed a flyer regarding the swine flu. No physical exams, no quarantines, nothing truly out of the ordinary. Or are we protecting the travel industry at the expense of public health?
One would think that if there was knowledge of a group of infectious people from a defined geographic area, one would take action to isolate the infected people from the general population to prevent the spread of disease. However, no major action was taken. The US-Mexican border was not sealed off by the border patrol or the military. With uncertainty surrounding this flu, the government simply took the “no panic” approach. Is the Obama Administration fearful that sealing off the border will lead to public pressure for the permanent stationing of troops there? Doing so would put a damper on the flow of cheap labor for many businesses. Our federal government seems to be ranking other priorities higher than that of the public’s health.
Then there was that odd press conference where two cabinet members, Homeland Security and Agriculture, continued to urge caution even as suspected cases on US soil started climbing and schools began to close in response to children being ill. One particularly strange action was the Agriculture secretary urging the media not to call it the swine flu, but to report it as the H1N1 virus. Never mind national security or the health of the American people. Just repackage the description of this bug so that the pork industry doesn’t take a hit on their financial statements. Who cares if the masses get ill, just keep buying and eating pork!
As the first few deaths on American soil were reported, the media consistently put qualifiers on each victim’s health condition. Sure, the flu caused the death, but that person also had other health complications. Every death was tagged with the “other health complications” disclaimer. When a New York City school official died from the former swine flu, the media dropped in the same disclaimer. Such misleading reports prompted the deceased’s family to state that, other than gout, he did not have any major health complications that played a significant role in his swine flu induced death.
In a nutshell, the response from our federal government has been inadequate while the mainstream media has simply functioned as its obedient public relations firm. This bug didn’t start in the US, but the government’s lax handling has created a multi-directional spring board for its transmission. As time passes, the true impact of this Mexican/swine/H1N1 flu will be revealed to the world.
Carl Chiang
