Polio, Media, and Father Knows Best (So he says)

I'm not sure it's a good thing to have all the national TV and print reporters looking for you.

The Polio story was not anything new to us here in this area. It had been around for weeks, and most knew just after the state did the who's, what's, when's, and where's of the story. News travels fast (true or untrue) in a small town probably quicker than the current 24/7 news cycle nationally.

I've had a few thoughts about the whole ordeal since then. First, the media wasn't concerned at all about the Polio story. They were looking for an Amish story. I know with the first interviews I did there were big hopes for a story from the reporters I talked too. Unfortunately for them most of the Amish I know have had polio vaccinations. In fact I know quite a few non-amish people who have skipped vaccinations due to concerns about mercury content in vaccines.

The other thing that troubled me afterwards was the response by state and county officials. None of the mayors, council members, local police personnel, township representatives received any type of general notice about an outbreak in our area to my knowledge.

I know the "official" reasoning behind the State procedure is they don't want to incite a panic when there "is no threat to the general public". I just hope this isn't the procedure should something that is a "general threat" come down the road. I will certainly ask some questions regarding this issue.