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A comment on Zika Is Coming. Parent comment

Re:Zika Is Coming by unclebucknasty on Saturday April 09, 2016 @05:09PM (#11463342)
>would you rather a modern Spanish flu pandemic kill half a billion people?

That's asinine. As if the choices are panicked fear or death. Do you think those public health agencies would be somehow less effective in the absence of fear-mongering?

My comment is not a question of there being public health threats. It's about the media coverage and the incessant need to sell fear in these times.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Zika Is Coming by lern_too_spel on Saturday April 09, 2016 @05:24PM (#11463415)
The author works in public health. Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum. Implementing the plan in the article requires public funds, and so it's perfectly reasonable to inform the public.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Zika Is Coming by unclebucknasty on Saturday April 09, 2016 @07:08PM (#11463879)
>Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum.

Yes, as any public health official will attest, public health policy happens best in a climate of unbridled fear and panic.

[ Parent | on HN ]