[unclebucknasty]

>would you rather a modern Spanish flu pandemic kill half a billion people?

That's asinine. As if the choices are panicked fear or death. Do you think those public health agencies would be somehow less effective in the absence of fear-mongering?

My comment is not a question of there being public health threats. It's about the media coverage and the incessant need to sell fear in these times.

[lern_too_spel]

The author works in public health. Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum. Implementing the plan in the article requires public funds, and so it's perfectly reasonable to inform the public.

[unclebucknasty]

>Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum.

Yes, as any public health official will attest, public health policy happens best in a climate of unbridled fear and panic.