3 ms·

> the pattern they used to name pandemics. What pattern is that, exactly? Looking at the Wikipedia list of worldwide pandemics with more than 1 million deaths

> the pattern they used to name pandemics. What pattern is that, exactly? Looking at the Wikipedia list of worldwide pandemics with more than 1 million deaths[0], only two were named after places, and one of those ("Spanish flu") was the result of wartime misinformation and/or racism. Admittedly the other example on that list is "Hong Kong flu" from 1968–1969, but there are other recent outbreaks which are not included, like SARS, Swine flu, and Bird flu. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics#Major_epidemics_and_pandemics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics#Major_epidem...

ralph84 5y ago
Here are the viruses targeted by this year's flu vaccine. Since the flu hasn't been politicized yet they're still using places in the names. A/Victoria/2570/2019 or A/Wisconsin/588/2019 A/Cambodia/e0826360/2020 B/Washington/02/2019 B/Phuket/3073/2013
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  None of those are pandemics (parent's phrase) or "new human infectious diseases" (WHO term). https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-pra...
SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
> What pattern is that, exactly? That pattern used now (e.g. for COVID-19) is this: World Health Organization Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases (2015) https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-pra... https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/163636/WHO_HSE_FOS_15.1_eng.pdf https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/163636/WHO_... This is an improvement, as they note, on names that "provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities". The world has moved on since the "Spanish Flu" was named. But I think that saying "the government had to change the pattern they used to name pandemics [because of China specifically]" is likely a misattribution and oversimplification of these guidelines. The idea that "the government names pandemics" is both too general - a government is a huge diverse structure, if this was a governmental role, some named health body within it would have this responsibility; and also too specific - "the" government? which country's government would take on that role? And it's not accurate - this is not any one country's government's role. Point of fact, COVID-19 was named by WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...

ralph84 5y ago

Here are the viruses targeted by this year's flu vaccine. Since the flu hasn't been politicized yet they're still using places in the names. A/Victoria/2570/2019 or A/Wisconsin/588/2019 A/Cambodia/e0826360/2020 B/Washington/02/2019 B/Phuket/3073/2013

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
None of those are pandemics (parent's phrase) or "new human infectious diseases" (WHO term). https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-pra...

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago

> What pattern is that, exactly? That pattern used now (e.g. for COVID-19) is this: World Health Organization Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases (2015) https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-pra... https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/163636/WHO_HSE_FOS_15.1_eng.pdf https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/163636/WHO_... This is an improvement, as they note, on names that "provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities". The world has moved on since the "Spanish Flu" was named. But I think that saying "the government had to change the pattern they used to name pandemics [because of China specifically]" is likely a misattribution and oversimplification of these guidelines. The idea that "the government names pandemics" is both too general - a government is a huge diverse structure, if this was a governmental role, some named health body within it would have this responsibility; and also too specific - "the" government? which country's government would take on that role? And it's not accurate - this is not any one country's government's role. Point of fact, COVID-19 was named by WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...