Ebola: Why Does Public Doubt Health Authorities?
Modern medicine stopped diseases like smallpox from spreading. So why does the public fear authorities can't handle the Ebola crisis? NYU's David Oshinsky discusses. Photo: AP.
... prison Obama is meeting on the bull is art easel Pinky implementing a travel ban and officials are already checking travelers temperatures and a handful of airports ... all these moves are response to a growing wave of criticism over how the US government is handling of Ebola ... but he always nice to be like this Americans actually is to try to public health officials ... so why I believe authorities can handle the latest crisis ... for more NS were joined by David Oshinsky he's a history professor at New York University ... and director of the division of medical humanities at the enlightened school of Medicine ... David thinks they much for being map it is you're just talking about what could be a series of disappearing right now is the safety of a travel ban and the majority of the American public think it's time ... most public health officials are saying we think it's a bad idea one has ever received a gap where the American public just doesn't trust medical official will I think this goes back many years and we live in a kind of ... pushed the man pushed worthy ... with the excess Coulter ... who we win the over the years of really begun to believe public officials and experts ... a lot less ... there there's this issue really has been growing ... I think we're the bullet The gap has widened ... and the reason is you see the public opinion polls now all ... of the bass majority of Americans ... support of trouble ... the vast majority of public health officials don't ... and ... I do you really don't want to put it into something where one side is right in one side is wrong ... and has been a lot of talk that ... can be opposed to this travel ban means take the races was an awful record ... cash not up on the issues and that is not true ... the American people strongly support ... the idea of standing in Liberia sending soldiers sending supplies ... sending doctors and nurses ... and that's where the battleground really is ... what they're really worried about is that we don't look at the moment had in place ... any kind of system ... to really prevent ... Ebola patients from bad area can coming in ... and the CDC and other organizations ... have really been behind the curve and they haven't ... anyway hope public opinion yes and I haven't given people a reason to trust and like the ballots of of a natural reaction for our generation to be skeptical of what officials are telling you ... that health officials ... but the ECB rate you wrote ... a book that I think about for Yellen about the response that you're also well versed in how ... health officials in the public responded to smallpox how is that different from what we seen and will do is a smallpox epidemic in New York City in eighteen forty seven who died recently gets off a bus from Mexico has smallpox ... goes to the house police miss diagnose ... it begins to spread ... but the difference is that the city in a voluntary but massive campaign ... lined up for a million people to be vaccinated and no one ... knows Alliance works making everywhere no one was sort of worried is the maximum danger is that weren't there might not be enough that there was a really had that kind of thing and with polio is exactly the same way ... I was a polio pioneers get ... my mother line me up along with two million of their school is for a vaccine ... no one knew whether a war no one knew was what was going to be successful whether was safe ... but my parents had ... and that whole generation also sent to risk versus reward ... Goward today has seen year after year what a deadly infectious disease can do ... today the original polio in United States of people say why should I add facts in one take the chance I don't believe the experts but we have to understand is if you don't get vaccinated polio was only a plane right away ... and I think with the ball up ... there was really that stands over the years ... that there's been a breakdown of community and has been a breakdown in communications I think going public health experts and all ... I care if anyone was watching the steering to pacify polite clearly even our congressmen are very skeptical the public health officials are saying ... t think this political grandstanding is a symptom of business trust me to get something that making it even worked ... I think in a way it's a symptom of mistrust ... aam ... boleh is something that ... it's good to be perfectly honest ... um ... the CDC was behind the curve but is understandable ball have always been ... a disease with very high mortality rate ... was two small villages in Africa and was so deadly that would go through these villagers men and the virus to burn itself out ... so the leaves come ... in very large numbers into urban areas like Monrovia ... and we have a very different kind of Coppola ... I think any body was ready for that kind of epidemic that has occurred in Africa ... and this was still open United States our hospitals are ready ... aam what we really should do very very quickly sustainable regional centers like Bellevue Hospital in New York City is a regional center ... but you can type you can really get the Korean people doctors nurses ... and they all worry ... no word that they are not getting the training of all mobile address the hope we will be a better response going for a good addition EU II stories and Daddy SJ dot com right now is the founder and they think and my pleasure thank you