AP Sensationalism: Worst-Case Scenario, Pandemic Will Claim 2 Million Americans

AP Sensationalism: Worst-Case Scenario, Pandemic Will Claim 2 Million Americans

By Jeff Poor (Bio | Archive)
Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:34 ET

An Associated Press story dated April 28 takes swine flu fears to a whole other level.

A report datelined Washington by Ricardo Alonsozaldivar and Eileen Sullivan examined the worst-case scenario "if the swine flu gets out of control."

"Two million dead," Alonsozaldivar and Sullivan wrote. "Hospitals overwhelmed. Schools closed. Swaths of empty seats at baseball stadiums and houses of worship. An economic recovery snuffed out. We're nowhere close to what government planners say would be a worst-case scenario: a global flu pandemic. But government leaders at all levels, and major employers, have spent nearly four years planning for one in series of exercises."

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Alonsozaldivar and Sullivan explained that this government plan predicts a full-scale pandemic flu would claim the lives of "about 2 million Americans."

"A full-scale pandemic - if it ever comes - could be expected to claim the lives of about 2 percent of those infected, about 2 million Americans," Alonsozaldivar and Sullivan wrote.

Although the government continually considers and prepares for such scenarios, the selection of this topic for an AP story is curious because at last count, the U.S. swine flu total was only at 45, with no fatalities.

A few in the media have questioned whether this swine flu outbreak warrants this sort of alarm from the press, which has fed on itself. However the AP report felt it was necessary to list the consequences of this "worst-case scenario":

"No one would be immune from the consequences, even those who don't get sick, according to worst-case exercises run by local and national agencies.
Schools would be closed to try to block the spread of illness, for example, but school buses might be used to take flu victims to alternative clinics rather than overcrowded hospitals.
A 2006 report on the Washington region found both Maryland and Virginia would run out of hospital beds within two weeks of a moderate outbreak.
People who got sick would be isolated, and their relatives could be quarantined.
But even if families weren't required to stay home, many would do so to take care of sick relatives, or because they were afraid of getting sick themselves.
Hotels, restaurants and airlines would face loss of business as business travel and meetings would be replaced by teleconferences.
In the cities, commuters who do go to work might bike or walk instead of using mass transit.
People would avoid movie theaters and rent DVDs instead."

Some media reports have not been shy about presenting the worst-case, warranted or not. The April 27 "NBC Nightly News" featured economist Mark Zandi, who warned the "global downturn will intensify" if swine flu isn't contained in the next two months.

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Yep...Job well done, AP...

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:37 ET by PrairieSky

Nothing like stirring up a little panic among the folks...

"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." President Ronald Reagan~ January 20, 1981

Hey Sky... Why it's all

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:00 ET by bigtimer

Hey Sky...

Why it's all Bush's fault don't ya know...just ask O!

Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart

bt...Of course it is...And "O" would know...

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:09 ET by PrairieSky

LOL! I wonder how much longer the idiot-in-chief is going to continue to use Bush as his scapegoat for everything...That lame-a$$ excuse has long since worn extremely thin...

"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." President Ronald Reagan~ January 20, 1981

2 million in a pandemic?

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:38 ET by SickofLibs

That's chump change - a Bushdemic would claim 200 million at least.

Game Over Man!!!!....Game

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:47 ET by oldArmy

Game Over Man!!!!....Game Over!!!

Meanwhile, behind the scenes....we all become SOCIALIST!!!

I'd rather have the SWINE FLU...

This just came to me.....maybe we could all die of the Swine Flu and avoid becoming socialist.....just a thought...

Now I don't feel so bad for the poor Doggy Paddling Polar Bear....

Boooosh caused it!

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:42 ET by wizardjr

Bushhitlerhaliburton's failure to stop Global Warming has released deadly pathogens into the atmosphere. We all doomed, Doomed I say!!

</sarc>

wiz... Now you're talking!

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 17:04 ET by Clear thinker

wiz... Now you're talking! Conservatives Are Racist Swine Flu Haters

Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/

Gotta go somehow...

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:43 ET by dvdaughtry

We're all going to kick the proverbial bucket. Just a matter of how.

I have a lot in common with pigs--pork, the other white meat.

You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?

It's more likely that

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:44 ET by mattm

It's more likely that 2,000,000 people will die from terrorist attacks under the limp-wristed Oslamba mis-administration than will die from democrat, er, ah, swine flu....

Blaming Republicans

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:46 ET by motherbelt

The other day liberals were claiming that former VP Cheney wanted America to get hit again so it would make Obama look weak.

How many liberals do you think are, right now, secretly hoping for many
deaths from this flu so that they can lay it at the feet of
Republicans? (are they already setting this up?)

Or, at the very least, are they hoping for a massive outbreak so that Obama can be a hero?

They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes

A new Katrina moment

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 16:28 ET by wizardjr

I think they're trying to set up a new Katrina moment and blame it (once again) on President Bush and the GOP.

Hey Dimocrats, you've had control of Congress since 2007 and a rubber stamp in the White House since the end of January. That means a full shot at passing anything "good" you deem necessary. So how then, is this the 'fault' of the GOP exactly....??

This so begins to look like "Idiocracy".

You know they're building

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:48 ET by Chris Norman

You know they're building this whole thing up so when it doesn't happen they can give Obama the credit for stopping it.

The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.

Since Rahm Emanuel has his

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:52 ET by dscott

Since Rahm Emanuel has his daily calls with the MSM, one must wonder what Team Obama is up to by hyping the H1N1 virus potential to kill a large number of people. What's in it for them? Universal Health Care? Given Rahm Emanuel's statement that a crisis shouldn't go to waste, is this the start of a sleazy campaign to gin up their pet legislation?

Why not simply offer the advice given by medical professionals to minimize your chances of getting the Flu. WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN, USE ALCOHOL WIPES or HAND DISINFECTANT. That's it people! Like any Flu stay home in bed, drink lots of liquids, take something for the fever. If you vomit eat crackers to settle your stomach. Basically use over the counter stuff

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance_homecare.htm?s_cid=tw_epr_61

Get medical care right away if the sick person at home:

has difficulty breathing or chest pain
has purple or blue discoloration of the lips
is vomiting and unable to keep liquids down
has signs of dehydration such as dizziness when standing, absence of urination, or in infants, a lack of tears when they cry
has seizures (for example, uncontrolled convulsions)
is less responsive than normal or becomes confused

See how easy it would have been for the AP to give a positive comforting story line.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.

wash hands often, etc

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:27 ET by SickofLibs

you left out 'keep your tires inflated'

Sickoflibs

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 16:53 ET by Kat Outta the Bag

<snort>*

*That was a laughter snort, not a swine snort.

Symptoms

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 17:03 ET by Kat Outta the Bag

Get medical care right away if the sick person at home:

has purple or blue discoloration of the lips

Just curious

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 14:59 ET by moderncommentaries83

What with all the eco-zealots calling for massive population reduction, why not let the swine flu pick off a few million people?

Won't that be good for the planet?

/sarcasm

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam

You guys are all missing

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 17:02 ET by Clear thinker

You guys are all missing the big picture. Obama wants to blame this crisis on racists... Conservatives Are Racist Swine Flu Haters

Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/

And what will save us?

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:06 ET by 10ksnooker

National healthcare.

Never let a crisis be wasted.

Obama mouthpiece

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:07 ET by expatriot

The AP is only supporting Obama in his quest for socializing the nation. If there is widespread panic then he has the perfect alibi for taking more federal control of all institutions in the US. Almost the perfect plan if they can pull it off.

Dscott, Like minds think

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:08 ET by expatriot

Dscott,

Like minds think alike.

"A full-scale pandemic - if

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:07 ET by Dan The Man 2

"A full-scale pandemic - if it ever comes - could be expected to claim the lives of about 2 percent of those infected, about 2 million Americans,"

Perhaps this is part of Duh One's recovery plan. Just think of teh millions of jobs this would open up. The USA has the best medical facilities and warning systems for 2 million deaths from a flu to happen. When was teh last time a country, even a backwater one, lose a large portion of its population from a flu?

Of course some countries have lost quite a bit of their population from stupidity. Just look at the USSR or Germany or Sudan or Iran/Iraq and the list goes on. I just hope we dont succumb to any pandemics like that.

Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.

Like my grandfather used to

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:22 ET by HockeyKid

Like my grandfather used to say, "And if the dog hadn't quit running, it would've caught the fox."

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

The Doomsayer Alonsozaldivar?

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:35 ET by SickofLibs

Wasn't he a contemporary of Negrodamus*?

(* credit to Paul Mooney/Dave Chappelle Show, who I dearly miss)

Hypocrits and environmental mental cases

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 15:41 ET by seven

We should not butcher and eat "downer" cattle. They by the way have much higher levels of e-coli

Feeding waste from ethanol production or "distillers grains" to cattle also markedly increases their e-coli levels. Oh my. We want e85 cars and pay for it in decreased food quality. The environmental movement has prices to pay many of you all do not know about.

HMMMMMMM

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 16:03 ET by rick007

That # would go up tenfold as soon as we have socilized Med.

Don't leave out

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 17:00 ET by Clear thinker

Don't leave out Conservatives from the pandemic...Conservatives Are Racist Swine Flu Haters

Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/

What about

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 18:21 ET by zoro7957

.............the annual pig wrestling championships in Tiajuana?

What is it with Liberals

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 19:03 ET by ahusser

especially the media and their love affair with panic inducing, the sky is falling, apocalyptic disaster scenarios. From killer bees, ozone layer, Acid Rain, global warming, climate change, super volcanoes, asteroids, mayan calendars and now swine flu et al and infinitum. Is this a symptom of neurosis, maybe OCD or what.

"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'

When I see a photo of all

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 23:06 ET by RR GOP

When I see a photo of all the AP guys and gals working in the office wearing masks, then I might believe it's not merely Yellow Journalism.

BTW, how many of Hearst's newspaper men actually did join the Army in order to avenge the USS Maine?

One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).

the sad thing

Wed, 04/29/2009 - 09:48 ET by jasonblanchard

The sad thing is that 2,000,000 will die this year from malaria, and that's not a hype....cold, hard, ignored, fact. Thanks media for looking out for human kind.

OH, not to mention that an average of 100 Americans die every day from the REGULAR flu....way to focus on the problem...pathetic.