Epidemiology, Reprise 0
As I have mentioned before, the panic being fomented, primarily on cable news and “social” media, over the coronavirus is wholly disproportional to the threat. And now that panic is going viral in its own inimical way.
Alexandra Brewis and Amber Wutich explore this at Psychology Today Blogs. A snippet:
This is because growing fears toward groups associated with emerging epidemic diseases act to hasten disease spread. This may seem counterintuitive, but it is all because of the way stigma undermines effective public health responses. For coronavirus, that stigma is targeting people from China. It is happening all over, including at Arizona State, our own university campus . . . .
Follow the link for their description of how such reactions hinder effective public health responses.