Lizw
Well-known member
By Liz Wallis - Whether it's avian flu (H5N1), the currently circulating "swine flu" (A/H1N1v), or any other infectious disease, there are always social consequences. For Mexico in April of 2009, that meant closing theaters, shopping malls, schools, sporting events. Many schools were closed in June in the US, and now summer camps are closing or canceling events. In Egypt, whole herds of pigs were slaughtered, leaving their owners in financial ruin, while the tourist industry, already reeling from the past year's economic woes, saw cruise ships turned away from scheduled destinations, and calls for border closings.
But these are only the most visible of the social consequences of a pandemic. If you're employed, have a roof over your head, and you can pay for medical help, influenza may be no more than an inconvenient few days off work. If you're homeless, your perceived health could mean the difference between spending the night in a bed, and lying in a doorway or under a bridge. Shelter managers in some US states have been told not to admit anyone who appears to have the flu, and they can hardly be expected to know the difference between A/H1N1v and a mild case of the rhinovirus (common cold).
Taking the recommended five days off can cost many people their jobs. The fast food industry has always been notorious for letting workers go if they call in sick. Temporary workers and day laborers are at even greater risk for job loss. One company in Virginia specified in its hiring policy that failure to come to work or leaving the job site during the day for any reason (including illness, family emergency or injury), was grounds for termination of the temp worker's job. In that environment, a "mild" case of swine flu is likely to be circulated around the whole office or job site.
The availability of vaccines brings up another set of potential social consequences. If there isn't enough for everyone, who gets it first? The official US pandemic site prioritizes vaccine recipients by their vulnerability, using such criteria as age, chronic disease, and pregnancy. A recipient's importance to society is also considered: in a severe pandemic, those personnel essential to homeland security and to health care and the infrastructure would have priority over the general population.
On the other hand, there is the specter of mandatory vaccination, especially of school children. Public schools in the US already require a long list of vaccinations, unless one can show a legitimate religious or medical exemption (in a very few states, personal objection is allowed). Civil libertarians listen uneasily to statements like "a critical target group for vaccinations is going to be younger children and particularly those with underlying health problems" (quoted on the Mercola.com website).
The bottom line is that even if A/H1N1v, or any other highly infectious disease, is no more than a blip on the public health radar, the social consequences of a worldwide pandemic could be more destructive than the disease itself.
Additional reading:
http://cbs4.com/local/h1n1.homeless....2.1062694.html - story from website of WFOR, Miami, Florida, CBS affiliate
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09156...xzz0HahlAjDA&C - article in Pittsburg Post-Gazette
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ming-Soon.aspx - article about vaccination on Mercola.com
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=110432 - FluTrackers discussion of mandatory vaccination
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/vaccine/prioritization.html - Official US pandemic flu site for vaccine prioritization
Suggested headlines:
Influenza--more than a public health issue
Social consequences of pandemics
Editor:
Sharon Sanders
ftcom@embarqmail.com
But these are only the most visible of the social consequences of a pandemic. If you're employed, have a roof over your head, and you can pay for medical help, influenza may be no more than an inconvenient few days off work. If you're homeless, your perceived health could mean the difference between spending the night in a bed, and lying in a doorway or under a bridge. Shelter managers in some US states have been told not to admit anyone who appears to have the flu, and they can hardly be expected to know the difference between A/H1N1v and a mild case of the rhinovirus (common cold).
Taking the recommended five days off can cost many people their jobs. The fast food industry has always been notorious for letting workers go if they call in sick. Temporary workers and day laborers are at even greater risk for job loss. One company in Virginia specified in its hiring policy that failure to come to work or leaving the job site during the day for any reason (including illness, family emergency or injury), was grounds for termination of the temp worker's job. In that environment, a "mild" case of swine flu is likely to be circulated around the whole office or job site.
The availability of vaccines brings up another set of potential social consequences. If there isn't enough for everyone, who gets it first? The official US pandemic site prioritizes vaccine recipients by their vulnerability, using such criteria as age, chronic disease, and pregnancy. A recipient's importance to society is also considered: in a severe pandemic, those personnel essential to homeland security and to health care and the infrastructure would have priority over the general population.
On the other hand, there is the specter of mandatory vaccination, especially of school children. Public schools in the US already require a long list of vaccinations, unless one can show a legitimate religious or medical exemption (in a very few states, personal objection is allowed). Civil libertarians listen uneasily to statements like "a critical target group for vaccinations is going to be younger children and particularly those with underlying health problems" (quoted on the Mercola.com website).
The bottom line is that even if A/H1N1v, or any other highly infectious disease, is no more than a blip on the public health radar, the social consequences of a worldwide pandemic could be more destructive than the disease itself.
Additional reading:
http://cbs4.com/local/h1n1.homeless....2.1062694.html - story from website of WFOR, Miami, Florida, CBS affiliate
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09156...xzz0HahlAjDA&C - article in Pittsburg Post-Gazette
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ming-Soon.aspx - article about vaccination on Mercola.com
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=110432 - FluTrackers discussion of mandatory vaccination
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/vaccine/prioritization.html - Official US pandemic flu site for vaccine prioritization
Suggested headlines:
Influenza--more than a public health issue
Social consequences of pandemics
Editor:
Sharon Sanders
ftcom@embarqmail.com