It seems some medical organizations perform better when the bright light of public awareness isn’t on them. First up is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the organization she’s been the head of since January 2021 “did not reliably meet expectations” during the coronavirus pandemic.
The CDC, charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks has released plans for reforms. The organization employs 11,000 people and has a $12 billion annual budget.
Then there’s the World Health Organization. This is the organization with a primary role of directing health within the United Nations system and leading partners in global health responses.
Monkeypox has been around since the late 1950s.
While dealing with the recent monkeypox outbreak, the WHO decided what was really important was to re-name the condition. This was to “avoid causing offense to any cultural, social, nation, region, professions or ethnic groups”.
Some scientists requested a new name for the disease, saying it’s misleading because it didn’t start with monkeys.
But the WHO chose not to appoint a committee to change the name, instead deciding to open up the process to folks like you and me. Some of the new names submitted include “Mpox”, “Poxy McPoxface” and others, including political ones, that led the WHO to say it wouldn’t choose a “ridiculous” name.
There have been similar things done to come up with new names for bridges, ships and more and you can always count on a something like “Poxy McPox Face” to be submitted.
This entire concept of avoiding offense to any social, nation, region, professional or ethnic groups just fits today’s social media focus.
Did swine flu destroy the bacon industry? Did Porky Pig file a lawsuit? Did Colonel Sanders survive after all those youngsters came down with chickenpox?
What better way to secure a “scientifically valid” name for “monkeypox” than to open up the naming process to a bunch of people, many of whom have the silver scratch-off stuff under their fingernails from lottery tickets they purchased.
Leave this to the scientific types to come up with a non-offensive name that none of us can pronounce.
Might I suggest following the lead of Prince Rogers Nelson when he became “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”? How about “The Virus Formerly Known as Monkeypox.”?
My Cleveland Major League Baseball team had to become the Guardians, although Indian-themed mascots for Atlanta baseball and Kansas City football somehow dodged that bullet.
If the WHO was serious about renaming this virus, they just need to stroll over to Madison Avenue and get an advertising agency in the game.
I’m reminded of a word game we Foster kids played once with our mother. The idea was to come up with the name of a restaurant that rhymed with a key word.
For example, a place where miserable, sobbing people ate was the “Whiner Diner”.
The place that coal diggers caught a bite was the “Miner Diner”.
When it became my mom’s turn, she said, “The Waldorf-Astoria”.
When we quizzed her, she said, “Well everybody would want to feast at the Waldorf”.
By the way, are we closer to finding a cure for monekypox or renaming it?
Just asking.
John Foster anchors “All-News-in-the-Morning” weekdays on 1010 WCSI-AM and 98.1 FM. You can read his weekly blog at johnnyonthespot1950.com and monthly in The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].
John Foster anchors “All-News-in-the-Morning” weekdays on 1010 WCSI-AM and 98.1 FM. You can read his weekly blog at johnnyonthespot1950.com and monthly in The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].
