Ironically, the people who had little concern about an orderly border and called vaccination and other health concerns “racist” are now complaining about the manner in which the CDC Guidelines concerning passenger screening are being executed on the ground. Apparently, they haven’t ever been to the post office. Understand, that an entire work force promised permanent jobs and benefits free from private sector merit based job performance evaluation standards … eventually stop doing their job. There are far too many of us who have bought into the notion of an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent federal government and refused to see the nexus between merit evaluations and the efficacy of the government workforce.
But, like those nonsensically fighting over bottled water at Costco … neither sensitive to or sensible of the fact that the virus poses no threat to the operation and integrity of potable water distribution systems … we now have the traveler equivalent complaining of the lack of efficient, consistent … and even existent screening. As Americans, we love a show, and place a lot of stock in exercises of futility as a substitute for actual productivity. We want to know that the government is doing something … no matter how futile. This is particularly confusing given the high value “we” purportedly place on science … without bothering to investigate what actual science has to say about the efficacy of airport screenings, at all. Regrettably, there are far too many that will simply tune out … because “they just know.”
Well … they don’t. In today’s issue of Science Magazine, Shanghai Contributing Correspondent, Dennis Hormile, paintstakingly examines the question from a scientific perspective, noting that while it may help in some respects, that it is largely ineffective in stopping the spread of a viral pandemic given: the limitations on the knowledge, consistency and productivity of the personnel undertaking the efforts; the endemic inaccuracy and calibration issues attendant to onsite equipment like thermal scanners; the disingenuity of passengers serving personal objectives and masking symptomatology with fever suppressing drugs; and, most importantly, the ability of the virus to spread in asymptomatic ‘infectees’ due to a long incubation period. In support of these conclusions he cites studies and statistical analyses concerning the efficacy of airport screening efforts during the H1N1 outbreak (57,000,000 Americans Infected with over 17,000 deaths); SARS; and pandemic influenza … or flu.
Perhaps we could help one another by refraining from emotional outbursts and kitchen table anecdotal analysis as substitutes for scientific truth. Baseless condemnations of our leaders and emergency personnel needlessly and dangerously undermines the public trust. Finally, understand that the government is not omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent … and that if you are simply going to raise your beak and wait for the worm to be dropped in you're going to be regularly and consistently disappointed … and extremely hungry.
Knowledge is power. Be powerful. Not pitiful.