Hantavirus Horrors and Hubris - PHMC

"Should you be worried?" is the wrong question for the media to be asking about public health issues. We need good information to make good decisions. But global public health leaders seem more concerned about avoiding panic than avoiding pandemics. When a virus started spreading human-to-human on a cruise ship in May, public health communication faltered as panic-management took the helm. All aboard, friends! We're dissecting a New York Times piece on hantavirus transmission. Hear what MJ and Daniella have to say about hantavirus coverage, public health misinformation, and how reporting on science desperately needs improvement. "Better safe than sorry" seems like common sense but public health leaders and the media still haven't learned from COVID pandemic comms mistakes (or the others before that). What will it take? Transcript here RESOURCES: NYT Hantavirus article - Hantavirus Doesn't Spread Easily, but Officials May Be Downplaying Risks VOX Today Explained ft. Lawrence Gostin BMJ article - Hantavirus outbreak should reset WHO’s default approach to airborne risk RELATED EPISODES: The Airborne Transmission Error - Something's in the Air - Public Health is Dead PHMC is edited by MJ of Everything is Public Health This is an independent, listener-supported show. If you like what you hear, and you'd like to support production costs for more of Public Health is Dead, visit publichealthisdead.com!