(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Oct. 28)

Flu alert

President Lee Myung-bak is reported to have turned down advice that he and his
aides be inoculated against the H1N1 influenza ahead of ordinary citizens as
infections spread rapidly here and abroad this week.

He was quoted as saying that
people at Cheong Wa Dae, including himself, had much less exposure to the virus
as all visitors were checked before entering the compound, hence there is no
reason to take the shots before others.
The president may feel he is right, but he is certainly wrong. It is not a
privilege but an obligation that he should be protected against all possible
dangers, be they elements of insurgency or any kind of epidemic, so he can
perform his constitutional duties without interruption. The same can be said of
presidential aides who have daily contact with the chief executive of the
republic.
The presidential gesture of modesty came at the same time as he instructed the
administration to make all-out efforts to curb the spread of the disease, which
newly infected about 30,000 people during the past week, including suspected
cases. Five more deaths with flu symptoms were reported on Monday just before the
beginning of the nation's first round of vaccinations against the disease.
Health authorities say that they have already taken the kind of emergency
measures that the Obama administration of the United States announced last week,
such as setting up extra treatment facilities and securing additional beds. They
reported that there was a combined number of 8,980 segregated beds at as many as
472 designated H1N1 treatment hospitals. Medical facilities have been told to
administer antiviral drugs promptly to patients with respiratory problems.
Since the new strain of swine flu erupted in Mexico in late April, showing signs
of developing into a pandemic, the health authorities here have taken preventive
steps in an orderly manner with public places quickly installing disinfection
gadgets and people voluntarily avoiding large gatherings. There were false
beliefs that Koreans with their spicy diet were particularly resistant to the
disease, but recurring reports of deaths in different age groups have broken the
myth and people have become scared of the pandemic.
What is most important is the participation of the nation's entire medical system
in fighting the flu. Thorough precaution is necessary, but an atmosphere of panic
should be avoided with the dissemination of correct information about the disease
among the public. Most folk festivals in the provincial areas have been canceled
while the Korean Series crammed tens of thousands of spectators into baseball
stadiums. More reasonable decisions by the local authorities are called for.
Nearly 900 schools across the country reported plural numbers of new flu patients
last week, including 60 kindergartens, 384 elementary, 218 middle and 201 high
schools. The weekly statistics showed a rapid increase of new infections, which
far outnumber cured cases. The aggregate number of patients up to high school age
passed the 10,000 mark in Seoul and more than 100 schools have been closed
partially or entirely in the capital city.
The annual scholastic aptitude test for high school seniors is just two weeks
away. Local education authorities should be most careful in deciding flu-related
closures.
Last but not least, the administration should make sure that vaccines and
antiviral drugs are distributed to all parts of the country in the optimal
manner, so no one from any part of the territory will have any complaint about a
shortage or absence of the medicine.
(END)