The press is causing everyone to panic about the Ebola virus. It’s terrible for the victims of course, and they have my sympathy. What I am about to say isn’t to suggest that their suffering is not terrible, and I wish those suffering from it a recovery, and my condolences go to the families of those who have succumbed to it.
But–the press needs to get a grip. Ebola is actually less communicable than the flu, or mumps, or other diseases that have been going around. I’m not a medical expert, but everything I read says you will know if you were in contact with someone who could have communicated the virus.
It’s a terrible thing. I wish the CDC had done a better job of handling it. But the U.S. press is acting as if we are all about to die. In general, I’d say that panicking is not really a great response to a given problem.