The Two Ruths Say Wash Your Hands and Don't Panic.
At the risk of blog.bioethics.net becoming the porcinefluenza.bioethics.net, I had to post at least one more commentary today about the swine flu epidemic.
Ruth Karron and Ruth Faden from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health weigh in at the New York Times answering the question, "Swine Flu: A Cause for Panic?" Their answer: Nah. Just wash your hands more often.
Seems like sage advice. Especially since there's not much else you can do to avoid influenza except to literally live under a rock or in an vacuum-sealed room for the next few weeks or months until the epidemic/pandemic has passed.
Since for most of us our careers (unless you are a blogger!) and family lives require social interaction that by necessity mean potential exposure to influenza in a pandemic situation, it's just not an option to be hermetically sealed away from the world. I agree with the two Ruths that our best option is to remain calm and to, as Art Caplan said as well, to sit tight and wash our hands often.
Summer Johnson, PhD
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And this also gives us the opportunity to opt out of shaking hands and taking a page from our asian brothers/sisters and bowing.
Or, take a page from our President and his wife and 'bump' ..
One other thought - as the volume on H1N1 diminishes, how do we capture the public's attention and response when 'the next one hits?'
- by benita on May 4, 2009 at 3:26 PM | link