Pandemic pet-peeves. (A very brief list for fellow writers and journalists 👁️.👁️) The phrase "global pandemic" is redundant. A pandemic by definition is an epidemic of global extent. 1/🧵 www.standardmedia.co.ke/alexander-ch... - ThreadSky

nicktsergas.ca • 77 days ago

Pandemic pet-peeves.

(A very brief list for fellow writers and journalists 👁️.👁️)

The phrase "global pandemic" is redundant.
A pandemic by definition is an epidemic of global extent.

1/🧵

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/alexander-chagema/article/2001366247/global-pandemic-is-a-redundant-phrase

Comments

michellerv.bsky.social•77 days ago

@threadreaderapp.bsky.social unroll please😊

nicktsergas.ca•77 days ago

❌ "during the pandemic" — please don't use it.

Here's the WHO chief, today:

"We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense. It’s still with us ... The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to."

✅ "during the pandemic's emergency phase"

https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing---10-december-2024

2/4

nicktsergas.ca•77 days ago

No, the pandemic's not over... I'll explain.

In May 2023 the WHO declared COVID-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

But a PHEIC and a pandemic are two different things...

3/4

https://www.salon.com/2024/01/04/leader-says-19-is-still-a-pandemic/

servedwithsarcasm.bsky.social•70 days ago

I thought COVID was an Endemic now where it is unlikely to be completely wiped out from society at this point.

nicktsergas.ca•70 days ago

It'll never be wiped out, but that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't try to mitigate its harms, which continue to be significant to individuals, populations, health systems and economies.

It takes a long time for a species to adapt to a novel pathogen, endemic or not. More than 5 years.

servedwithsarcasm.bsky.social•70 days ago

I understand, but my point is that 'pandemic' and 'endemic' require different approaches. Saying 'the pandemic isn't over' creates confusion about the situation and appropriate responses. In a pandemic, the goal is to stop the spread; in an endemic, the goal is to reduce its impact to adapt.

nicktsergas.ca•77 days ago

PHEIC is a designation for public health threats that unlocks powers for the WHO and international funding sources.

But the distinction was apparently lost on people, and by now, the perception that "it's over" has been cemented.

By writing about it in the past tense, we contribute to that.

4/4

dont-inhale-virus.bsky.social•77 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/dont-inhale-virus.bsky.social/post/3lc75mkz7ss23

wendyorent.bsky.social•77 days ago

Well for a pandemic that’s “over” it sure still is making a lot of people sick. I wish everyone would get their shots every six months. It would help a lot with cutting down on transmission and keeping people in better shape if they do contract Covid. Because it is still out there.

catf.bsky.social•77 days ago

Getting shots is only part of it. People need to keep masking w/proper respirators, stay home when sick & clean the air.

wendyorent.bsky.social•76 days ago

Good luck with all that. It won’t happen, I’m sorry to say. I’ve written many articles about the need to stay home when you’re sick. People don’t listen.

nicktsergas.ca•77 days ago

Would be good, eh? Seems like response will somehow get worse before it gets better

ticwriter.bsky.social•77 days ago

@rachelgilmore.bsky.social fyi

ticwriter.bsky.social•76 days ago

Weird how you crusade against disinformation but you don't touch the subject of the ongoing pandemic.

calicoday.bsky.social•77 days ago

Honestly, I think allowing this, now, is not also an "emergency phase" is a mistake, esp as it's lost the novelty to keep us alert. I stick to "... early years," bc yeah, YEARS and counting!

wendyorent.bsky.social•77 days ago

Yeah, no. That’s not at all true. Both the Justinian Plague and the Black Death were certainly pandemics, but they weren’t remotely global. “Pandemic” can mean many things to many people; SARS-1 was called a pandemic because it popped up in many places worldwide, but infected only 8000 people.

nicktsergas.ca•77 days ago

Ok, fair. Still bugs me to bits

wendyorent.bsky.social•77 days ago

Probably I would think because its widespread use is kind of mindless. They’re not saying, a global pandemic as opposed to a far-reaching one. They’re just using it reflexively, methinks.

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