Channing Kennedy

Dr. Clarke Drops Swine Flu Science [VIDEO]

The Department of Health and Human Services is having a video contest to raise awareness about the H1N1 virus. Here’s an entry by Dr. John Clarke, MD, AKA The Physician Musician, that I think does a great job of kicking off a discussion about epidemiology and race.

While we all know that Spring Breakers and factory farms are responsible for swine flu, we also know that the neighborhoods that get hit the hardest by another outbreak will be the ones least able to defend themselves.

So what will H1N1 do to communities of color? WIth health care under constant attack, and state budgets cutting health services in lieu of cutting corporate welfare, what will it take for the disease to turn endemic? And how soon after that will it get taken seriously? How many jobs will be lost due to a child needing care at home? How will attitudes toward vaccines complicate outreach efforts? And how about those in our communities with family in other countries?

H1N1 is preventable and treatable — so how do we ensure that everyone has the resources to prevent and treat it? Educators within the community, like Dr. Clarke, are a great start, but this is one problem that sick freestyles can’t solve alone.

h/t PostBourgie.

Posted at 11:15 AM, Sep 04, 2009 in Health | Permalink | View Comments