OK, feel free to skip this, since I haven't been and don't care to go through the WS expert qualification process, but I'm sticking with opinion or things you can find through Google (as with my last post).
So... As a personal commentary and suggestion, I will say this much:
Watch out for polarization - be it here, in the media, press conferences, and yes, even with your health care workers.
It's human nature to respond to an overstatement with another overstatement intended to balance. But intent notwithstanding, by their very nature, such responses are not themselves balanced or objective truths.
That leads to misunderstandings, misinformation, and lack of trust. That's not a life or death problem with most issues, but it can be with this one.
On one side, overstatements of current risks, over-pessimism, or talking about bunkering in right now are unnecessary, and worse, motivate officials and some in the medical field to
understate the risk, because a panicking population
could ultimately cause more problems than the virus.
On the other hand, understatements of risks or overstatements of abilities, meant to soothe fears and reduce panic are also dangerous.
People who have seen or experienced things that prove otherwise feel patronized, less trusting, and panic more.
Other people will take understatements of risk at face value, thus putting us all at more risk by not taking precautions.
So my message is that we will all be safer if both sides will keep this balance in mind. Research
and employ critical thinking and analysis to our observations of current and past events and practices, in context.
The media (MSM and not) is guilty of both scaremongering and such dangerous patronizing.
The WHO and CDC lost trust by sending conflicting messages between professionals and the public they fear will panic. (e.g., the comparison to AIDS by the CDC head. :doh
A healthcare professional's reliability as a source can only be judged individually, as it depends on their personal experience, work experience, education, specialty, and diligence.
Infection control is only as good as its weakest link, and our history and current problems with unnecessary iatrogenic infections (e.g., MRSA) prove that we still have unacceptable # of weak links.
Our true risks from ebola here are yet to be determined. We will learn vital information in the coming weeks and months.
Until then, we can only be trusted by being honest about what we know and don't know, and facing our weak points.
A few will panic, no matter what. Others will have agendas. The bald truth still wins, because most people are pretty good at either observing and interpreting events or trusting those who earn their trust.
It never hurts for people to step up on preparedness and precautions. How high depends on a variety of factors that might be discussed.
Everyone should read up on droplet precautions and decontamination protocols. The CDC and many universities have helpful papers. The virus is easy to kill with over the counter products you can use at home and when in public.
Don't fret about worst possible outcomes or things you can't control. Stress lowers your immune system.
:twocents:
