[PLUG-TALK] Covid-19 mortality rates

[Paul Heinlein]

On Wed, 11 Mar 2020, Rich Shepard wrote:

> On Wed, 11 Mar 2020, Paul Heinlein wrote:
>
>> In short, the COVID-19 story -- which plays to the "if it bleeds, it
>> leads" mentality of some in the press and would have gotten some press
>> regardless -- has now been caught up in this administration's political
>> battles, ensuring it even more press.
>
> All too true, Paul. Unfortunately it has caused what appears to be mass
> panic in the population. And it's not only here: Italy shut down the entire
> country.
>
> Does no one believe in science any more?

Humans are not particularly good at risk assessments. In this case, 
the virus is still spreading and there is no effective vaccine.

Ordinarily, such a medical issue would means that groups of conspiracy 
theorists who would try to convince you that the authorities have 
wildly understated the problem, while other groups of conspiracy 
theorists would try to convince you that the federal government (or 
big pharma, or the Chinese) actually created the problem.

In a normal situation, the CDC and their state-level counterparts 
would have solid, grounded advice for avoiding the virus, recognizing 
its symptoms, and getting treatment when infected. There would be 
solid numbers of infections, mortality rates, etc.

And, ordinarily, most mainstream journalists would look to the CDC for 
that sort of information, trying to get out the best information 
available to them.

In this case, there is no official story or strategy. Administration 
officials contradict one another and their own public-health experts.

Solid messaging wins this battle -- but there is no solid messaging at 
the national level.

-- 
Paul Heinlein
heinlein at madboa.com
45°38' N, 122°6' W