You most likely have heard about Ebola from every form of media that exists. This virus is discussed on the radio, television and social media. The prevalence of media coverage has caused an unhealthy type of chaos.
Because of the constant media coverage, people seem to react in two completely different ways. Some say the media is blowing it out of proportion while others say the virus is going to wipe out humankind.
There needs to be a balanced reaction to Ebola.
By saying the media is simply blowing up the issue into more than it actually is, we are discounting the significance of the virus. People who take this approach decide not to take any precaution at all. This may lead to careless behavior that would make someone more susceptible to Ebola if it did end up spreading throughout America.
However, being consumed by the media coverage and becoming terrified of a pandemic also puts us ?in danger.
We could take the media too seriously and let it interfere with our daily lives and responsibilities. This stress may also lower someone’s immune system, which could heighten the susceptibility to illnesses, including Ebola under the right — and unfortunate — circumstances.
A healthy way to approach this virus is to find a good balance between concern and leniency. We need to take some precautions against this deadly virus while not letting our concern consume our lives.
Our government and health facilities also need to find a healthy balance. It was revealed by two Texas nurses who cared for an Ebola victim that the hospital they worked for failed to provide medical uniforms that sufficiently covered and protected the medical workers. This shows Ebola was not taken seriously enough to prevent the spread of the virus.
In addition to this, we need to offer West Africa more assistance. Our government was fully aware of Ebola’s prevalence in West Africa early on. No action was taken to prevent the spread, and now it has come to America.
If we want to protect our country from potential epidemics and pandemics, we need to take some sort of action to prevent a virus from spreading in the first place.
From this point forward, we all need to find a middle ground between concern and leniency in order to protect ourselves.
