Summary

The article discusses the arrival of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the United States, urging calm and perspective by comparing its impact to the annual influenza statistics and cautioning against media sensationalism.

Abstract

The Wuhan Coronavirus has been reported in Snohomish County, Washington, causing concern among residents. However, the article emphasizes that the media's portrayal of the virus as "deadly" may be overly sensationalized, especially when considering the more significant impact of the seasonal flu, which has resulted in millions of cases, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations, and thousands of deaths in the U.S. alone. The author, a former firefighter and paramedic, advises the public to remain informed through reliable sources like the CDC and to practice good hygiene, particularly handwashing, to prevent virus spread. The article downplays the immediate threat of the Wuhan Coronavirus, suggesting that it is a form of pneumonia that, while serious, should not cause undue panic.

Opinions

The author believes that the media's coverage of the Wuhan Coronavirus is sensationalized and alarmist, particularly noting the Wall Street Journal's use of the word "deadly" in its headline.
The article suggests that the public's fear is disproportionate to the actual risk posed by the Wuhan Coronavirus, especially when compared to the annual influenza statistics.
It is the author's opinion that the viral spread of information about the virus will outpace the actual spread of the disease itself.
The author expresses confidence in the healthcare system's ability to manage the virus, noting that the patient in question is young and in presumably good health.
There is a call to action for the public to avoid contributing to fear-mongering and to rely on factual information from established health authorities.
The author implies that the focus on the Wuhan Coronavirus is a distraction from more routine health concerns and the importance of compassion in medicine.

The “Deadly” Wuhan Coronavirus has Spread to the United States

It’s Time to Panic, Right?

The viral illness that is linked to six deaths in China has appeared right here where I live, just one town over in Snohomish County, Washington.

I got hot tip from an associate at the county 9–1–1 dispatch center about 10 minutes before the update from the Wall Street Journal pinged on my phone.

The text I got was purely an item of “how about that” curiosity, but the news headline was way more sensational than that.

To say that the WSJ headline is alarmist would be an incredible understatement. With its banner of “First U.S. Case Reported of Deadly Wuhan Virus” it might seem that we are all in dire danger. Especially me, it’s right here where I live.

It probably isn’t time to bar the door and hoard dry goods quite yet though.

While this is a new virus, previously undetected in humans, that doesn’t automatically equate to alarm. It is important to keep things in perspective.

By any sort of reasonable comparison, this event is massively overshadowed by the annual development of the influenza virus.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that between October 1, 2019 and January 11, 2020 there have been 13 million (yes, 13 million) incidences of influenza resulting in 120,000 hospitalizations and 6,600 deaths. The CDC reports these in a range, and I chose the low end to show here.

So far, the Wuhan Coronavirus has killed six people. Worldwide.

Yep, six people.

Personally, I haven’t heard so much as a peep out of the media about the influenza incidences this year, and yet I bet we are destined to see our news headlines and social media streams fill with passionate over-reporting of this one documented case in the U. S.

I bet it will be Top Story on our local television news here in a few hours, and the local newspaper bylines will certainly contain some sort of information about this event.

I just hope they take a less incendiary approach than The Wall Street Journal chose. They made an active choice to include the word “deadly” in their headline when they didn’t need to do so. Such sensationalism only results in panic and is an incubator for the spread of false information.

The fact is, the viral message across the media will spread exponentially faster than the actual illness will spread — if at all — here in the U. S.

It’s a part of human nature to fear the unfamiliar.

One instinctive reaction is to fill our unknowns with information we hear from others without slowing down to check our facts.

I am sure that the words “Deadly Wuhan Virus” will spread like wildfire. Much faster than the reality check, based in fact, that it is really just a form of pneumonia.

Don’t get me wrong, pneumonia is serious, and it causes death in many cases, particularly in those with weak or compromised immune systems. But we have all heard of pneumonia and the fear of an unknown specter has been removed from that word. That’s why the Wall Street Journal didn’t use it.

And that’s why our social media accounts won’t be lighting up with “pneumonia” tomorrow. Instead it will be “Deadly Wuhan Virus”. Sigh.

As a former firefighter and paramedic that worked firsthand with a public that experiences all sorts of disease and trauma, I ask you to do me one favor during the next few weeks and months as this particular form of virus runs its course.

Please do not add to the fear mongering and propagating of rumors that is sure to happen out there. Don’t get caught up in the hype.

Keep yourself informed from factual sources like the CDC website. And do all the normal things that we know to do to prevent the spread of any sort of virus — the most important of which is washing our hands.

This gentleman in our local hospital will likely recover, he is young and as such, presumably, in good health.

I know the medical professionals will protect themselves with the proper Personal Protective Equipment and good basic disease hygiene.

This event will quickly blow over in the cosmic scale of things and we can get back to our regularly scheduled concerns like Oscar Award predictions and kitten videos on the internet.

Remember, it is all about perspective.

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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. Now moving forward to writing and consulting. For more articles like this, join the mail list.