Flu shots, media frenzy

The flu vaccine shortage has been a constant and irritating topic in the news lately. It's been on front pages of major newspapers, local and national TV and radio broadcasts and has a glut of space dedicated to it on the Internet. Sen. John Kerry and President Bush are even pointing fingers at each other about who is responsible (CNN.com reports 62 percent of those polled say they "don't think it's Bush's fault").

I'm not interested in the flu, its vaccination or the shortage thereof, but it is interesting to note how and why there came to be so much attention on a random and fairly inconsequential topic. The answer lies within the constructs of the media, and the frightened state of the average American.

First, I'll start out by saying that there are people the flu vaccine is helpful to: the very old, the very young or the very sick. People who are in danger of dying from influenza should definitely get vaccinated. But beyond this, what's the big deal? The only reason there is a "shortage" for the people who need the shot right now is because people who don't need the vaccinations are getting them.

My question is why are healthy people getting scared about not being able to get a flu vaccine in the first place?

It's because the media have put the fear in people. As soon as Joe Average is told there's a shortage of something, he's going to run out and get it. And the amusing part is that the reporting of the "shortage" in this case is what caused a true "shortage" for the people who need the vaccine. The reporting of the fact that people were running to get flu vaccines caused more people to go run and get them. And now, guess what? People are taking a boat ride to Canada just to get vaccinated. And, rumor has it, the entirety of Congress made it a point to get their shots. Congressmen and women definitely need to avoid the flu more than people who can die from it, right? Doubtful.

But all this says something about the state of mainstream, mass media of American culture right now. The news-people have their thumbs on the remote control to fast-forward Americans into believing almost anything. And Americans are poised to respond in the standard fearful, greedy way that's so prevalent right now.

Water shortage? Duct tape shortage? Lima bean shortage? Believe me, people are going to be stocking up. Not because they need it, but because they want to have control over it; they're afraid they might want it later. And this fear is what's driving the run on flu vaccines. If people were properly informed about the logistics of flu vaccinations, then there would be some sort of logical order concerning the desire for and distribution of it. But, this is not the case in this round. The media picked up some information -- a bad batch of vaccine that halved the U.S. potential supply -- and turned it into a vicious cycle of people wanting more and able to get less.

Today, in this instance, general mass media attention to a topic created a worse situation than existed initially. Tomorrow must be better.