Boxcar Joe

On NBC's Today Show this morning, when asked what he had told his own family regarding the swine flu or H1 N1 virus, Vice President Joe Biden responded by saying he told his family to avoid "confined spaces" such as airplanes and trains.

"I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, (be) suggesting they ride the subway. … So from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that's one thing, if you're in a closed aircraft or closed container or closed car or closed classroom it's a different thing," the Vice President went on to say.

To be fair, I need to say that Biden's office issued a clarification immediatly after the interview: "The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the vice president has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week."

Despite the clarifications and the beast intentions I'm confident the Vice President had, this is an interesting comment by a man who made a big deal about taking the Amtrak from Delaware to Washington everyday during his time in the Senate. It was a part of then VP nominee Biden's personal story; a single, working-class parent just trying to raise and support his kids, it's just in this case the single parent happened to be a member of the United States Senate.

The Vice-President has taken some initial heat for his comments. Roger Dow, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, took Biden to task and by extension others in the political arena who make ill-advised comments during medical emergencies and pandemics.

"Americans should heed the advice of medical experts when determining how best to manage health concerns during the ongoing swine flu outbreak," Dow said while responding to Biden's comments. "Elected officials must strike a delicate balance of accurately and adequately informing citizens of health concerns without unduly discouraging travel and other important economic activity," he went on to say. He also went on to point out that the Center for Disease Control has said that people should not be wary of traveling inside of the United States.

This exchange of opinion and response between Biden and Dow illustrates what is even more contagious during a pandemic and that is fear. Swine flu (H1 N1) is real. People have died and the worldwide response to suspected cases has been nothing short of swift. Those responsible for getting the public good, solid information on the virus should be commended.

However, ever since swine flu had became noticed in Mexico late in March and early in April, the media coverage has been moving quickly toward sensationalism. Like SARS in 2003 and the non-outbreak of avian flu, swine flu has become ongoing media filler. Even the name "swine flu" is a creation; pork consumption has nothing to do with transmission and it should be refered to in the media as H1 N1. Then maybe everyone would begin to be on the same page.

And comments by polititions such as Biden, which could be chalked up to a classic Biden gaffe, or by Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, who has gone as far to link the H1 N1 virus to Democrats, doesn't help the media frenzy. "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter," said Bachmann. "And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence."

During a serious medical crisis, the media needs to do its job and report what is going on. The people need the facts-- how it is transmitted, and how can I protect myself? National media should be urging people to go to local, state or provincial authorities for updates and what is being done in their area. Instead we get endless debates and b-footage of facemasks and ridiculous statements by people like Biden and Bachman.

Quill is dry.


UPDATE: 5:05PM-- The World Health Organization recently stated that in order to protect pigs and related industries, they will officially refer to the virus known commonly as swine flu as its scientific name H1 N1, the name it should have been known as from the beginning. Yesterday officials in Egypt slaughtered 300,000 pigs as a precaution.