News Article Site: : http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC091024-0000053/?To-jab-or-not-to-jab-...-
Print Edition Page: http://www.todayonline.com/PrintEdition/NF
I’m sure many of you have seen over the weekend, the huge picture on the cover of Today’s newspaper: A doctor or nurse holding an injection needle probably containing the H1N1 vaccine. The big story is entitled: “Should you get the jab?” A survey was held to find out how many people would actually go and get vaccinated when the vaccine was to arrive in Singapore.
How in the first place would the world find out about H1N1 if not for the media coverage that has been so “in your face” for the past couple of months? For this pandemic, we see most effectively the surveillance (information) and cultural transmission (education and socialization of receivers) functions of the media.
Through the agenda setting function, repeated news coverage of the H1N1 epidemic has raised the importance of the issue in the public’s mind. While this article does not aim to influence or tell us what to think, it is able to make us think about it for ourselves.
Based on the people who were surveyed, most of them have indicated that they were not worried about the virus. Here is a short snip of the article which I find is most amusing:
“Of the 50 Singaporeans surveyed, 68 per cent said they weren't worried about H1N1. Of these 34 "non-worriers", 11 said they would nonetheless take the H1N1 vaccine once it became available.
What piqued my amusement was that men were far more likely to say they weren't worried - 81.5 per cent, versus 52.2 per cent of the women polled. However, almost all the professed non-worriers plumping for the vaccine were men (nine out of 11).
Was male bravado involved?
"The vaccine is for protection, even though I'm not worried," explained a 42-year-old male respondent.”
(Today 24th October 2009)
Indeed, was the male bravado involved? =P
We could see here that the powerful effects theory, where mass media is influential and the audience is passive, hardly or does not exist in modern day society. Everyone is way too educated as compared to the past. Rather, the limited and the moderate effects theory are more likely to show themselves in audience’s reactions to the mass media. Most people are waiting to see how the H1N1 pandemic evolves before they think about getting themselves vaccinated.
Apart from this small poll, a high-risk group of people were also interviewed, namely, the pregnant women. Most of them said they would not take something the vaccine for the fear of side effects, which have not yet been stated. They generally demand for more information on the dubious product that the government is intending to bring in, but haven’t yet told the public enough about it. Fair enough arguments.
Who runs the media? Why the powerful elite of course. Media hegemony is obviously existent in the H1N1 coverage. In this case, the people with the biggest say would be the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They control what we read or hear about in the news. How much they actually tell us is something people hardly question. People can usually accept answers like, “We are confident they are safe…” Sure. They’re the professionals, what could go wrong?
The media surrounds us all and is always out to creep into our heads; the dirtiest of methods would probably be via sublimal messaging. As humans, we are no doubt easily influenced indirectly by the powerful elite through the different media vehicles.
Let’s have a short poll here too. Would you bother to get vaccinated? Why or why not?
Print Edition Page: http://www.todayonline.com/PrintEdition/NF
I’m sure many of you have seen over the weekend, the huge picture on the cover of Today’s newspaper: A doctor or nurse holding an injection needle probably containing the H1N1 vaccine. The big story is entitled: “Should you get the jab?” A survey was held to find out how many people would actually go and get vaccinated when the vaccine was to arrive in Singapore.
How in the first place would the world find out about H1N1 if not for the media coverage that has been so “in your face” for the past couple of months? For this pandemic, we see most effectively the surveillance (information) and cultural transmission (education and socialization of receivers) functions of the media.
Through the agenda setting function, repeated news coverage of the H1N1 epidemic has raised the importance of the issue in the public’s mind. While this article does not aim to influence or tell us what to think, it is able to make us think about it for ourselves.
Based on the people who were surveyed, most of them have indicated that they were not worried about the virus. Here is a short snip of the article which I find is most amusing:
“Of the 50 Singaporeans surveyed, 68 per cent said they weren't worried about H1N1. Of these 34 "non-worriers", 11 said they would nonetheless take the H1N1 vaccine once it became available.
What piqued my amusement was that men were far more likely to say they weren't worried - 81.5 per cent, versus 52.2 per cent of the women polled. However, almost all the professed non-worriers plumping for the vaccine were men (nine out of 11).
Was male bravado involved?
"The vaccine is for protection, even though I'm not worried," explained a 42-year-old male respondent.”
(Today 24th October 2009)
Indeed, was the male bravado involved? =P
We could see here that the powerful effects theory, where mass media is influential and the audience is passive, hardly or does not exist in modern day society. Everyone is way too educated as compared to the past. Rather, the limited and the moderate effects theory are more likely to show themselves in audience’s reactions to the mass media. Most people are waiting to see how the H1N1 pandemic evolves before they think about getting themselves vaccinated.
Apart from this small poll, a high-risk group of people were also interviewed, namely, the pregnant women. Most of them said they would not take something the vaccine for the fear of side effects, which have not yet been stated. They generally demand for more information on the dubious product that the government is intending to bring in, but haven’t yet told the public enough about it. Fair enough arguments.
Who runs the media? Why the powerful elite of course. Media hegemony is obviously existent in the H1N1 coverage. In this case, the people with the biggest say would be the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They control what we read or hear about in the news. How much they actually tell us is something people hardly question. People can usually accept answers like, “We are confident they are safe…” Sure. They’re the professionals, what could go wrong?
The media surrounds us all and is always out to creep into our heads; the dirtiest of methods would probably be via sublimal messaging. As humans, we are no doubt easily influenced indirectly by the powerful elite through the different media vehicles.
Let’s have a short poll here too. Would you bother to get vaccinated? Why or why not?
Hi Audrey, Gerald here.
ReplyDeleteI would not bother to get vaccinated as my supernatural power beliefs are supposed to protect me from such viruses. If people were so scared of every little disease that we found, we would be wiping our hands with wet wipes every 30 second and popping hundreds of pills every morning.
I also do feel that the male ego is involved in the fact that they said they are not worried but would still wanna get vaccinated. Its a contraditory joke. Men always want to save face and pretend to be all macho about it yet I think that deep down inside they are scared and want that vaccination because they are worried and want to be protected. Very interesting statement. "i'm not worried but its just for protection". L O L seriously.
I wouldn't get vaccinated. Would everyone really bother to do it for every single pandemic that hits the country? You can't be serious. The government also has not provided the public with much or any information on the vaccine to this day. We know how to think now.
ReplyDeleteMale bravado was definitely involved. Its such an ironic statement to not be worried but just get the vaccination for safety's sake... Some gut this guy has.
Some men have such a way with words that you'll just want to laugh in their face. What in the world was that 42 year old thinking?
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder about the works of the government and people or organisations of higher power. Like you said, people can accept answers like "we are confident that they are safe", but what happens if a person falls under the possible minority group where the product is in fact, not safe? As you can easily tell, I won't get the vaccination.
Hi... I feel that the government making use of the media to educate the public about such important issues is a smart move. It's not the first time such use of the media has happened in Singapore anyway. The media scene in Singapore is heavily regulated by many government agencies and it definitely has its pros and cons. This is probably one of the positive aspects of it.
ReplyDeleteBut personally I don't think I will get the jab unless i'm travelling overseas.
Interesting how the media can be used to make a mountain out of a molehill and vice versa. If they wanted to worry the public, they'd have the headline "H1N1 claims a 5th victim" and keep the details in fine print.
ReplyDeleteNo... i won't bother getting a vaccine as firstly the outbreak is over secondly the common flu kills more people within the same time and yet here we are.
"The vaccine is for protection, even though I'm not worried,"
ReplyDeleteIndeed was the man drunk and so frightened of getting the flu or is the standard of English in Singapore deteriorateing at such a rapid rate that this man unconciously shot himself in the foot...(and whilst being interveiwed by the news...Major...major owwie)
I agree with Whoops... "straits times" recently did a column on the declining standards of english(yes this was sparked off by our BOOMSY lass ris low)
ReplyDeleteSuch a silly statement made is truely inviting ridicule, in fact rolling out the red carpet for it. It seems this man is following the concept of the condum(on this point i shall not elaborate lest i get carried away)
HAHA. Some men say the dumbest things. Guess women have got to make some allowances here and there though. The media is a good platorm to educate and inform the public in the shortest time possible. They are really "creepers".
ReplyDeleteNo, I wouldn't get vaccinated. There's not enough information given about the vaccine yet.
I don't intend to get vaccinated - primarily because it doesn't seem necessary (even with the pandemic having been given 'emergency' status) since ordinary influenza is more virulent and causes more deaths anyway.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the Singaporean media seems to be excessively concerned with the pandemic relation to other media around the world- H1N1 rarely made the front page even in countries that were more severely affected.
It depends - depending on any future plans. For example, if i want to travel to a country which still has H1N1 roaming around, then i would probably get the jab. However, if i were to be staying in Singapore, i would probably not get the jab as H1N1 here is currently under wrap, the numbers may be rising under our nose - we don't really know; news of H1N1 in Singapore is extinct, possibly to erase that social stigma which so many had gotten when they returned to their daily lives after recovering from the virus.
ReplyDeleteThough i would agree that that is a certain factor of male ego in play in the dilemma of getting a jab or not, i feel that it may also due to the way society works here.
Many may not get the jab, as apparently, they are afraid of being labelled a quote-unquote 'kiasu' for their entire lives.
Some may not get the jab, as they feel that there is no need to, often arising from these situations:
(i) They think that they've survived both SARS and H1N1 - so there's nothing to worry about
(ii) They feel that the extra hole in the pocket might be too much to bear in the slowly recovering Asian economy.
However, that is not to say that many get the jab as they do not fear the situations mentioned above. Apparently, some companies are offering the vaccines to any high ranking worker who is going overseas - as an added precaution to their company's 'assets'.
To Gerald: Thank you for your comment! Like I said before, the male species is really intersting. I'm amazed at how they can shoot themselves down on national media. Their "macho side" totally got contradicted with that line right there.
ReplyDeleteTo ...: Thank you for your comment! I fully agree with you about the male bravado thing. Evreyone's talking about it. Certainly as our population becomes more educated, the government can keep expecting the people to question what their actions (the government's) entail. The most serious concern is that people do not know what the side effects of the vaccine are.
ReplyDeleteIt's a funny thing: that when people are supposed to feel more secure, they are instead rather than against the use of the vaccine at this point.
To Amanda: Thank you for your comment! What was he thinking? He OBVIOUSLY wasn't thinking.
ReplyDeleteSensible point made here about the smaller groups of people that would be heavily affected by the side effects of the vaccine. Statements made are always generalised. Is there really a person you could blame for any detrimental thing that happens? That'll be hard to say.
To Christopher: Thank you for your comment! True. I think most people would think the same way: Get the jab only if you are travelling overseas. As much as we criticise the Singapore media for being very closed and limited. We have to admit that they have done a good job in informing and also probably protecting the Singapore citizens. The media is after all the fastest way to tell the public, the world, about the happenings all over.
ReplyDeleteTo Ariel Mei: Thank you for your comment! The media does have the ability to blow things out of proportion - whether or not it becomes a huge issue or a tiny issue. Also true that the common flu proves to be more dangerous, and that the first wave of the pandemic is over, but then again, people are worried about the second wave to come.
ReplyDeleteTo Whoops: Thank you for your comment! The standard of English in Singapore has definitely been deteriorating, what with Singlish becoming more prominent nowadays. Hearing good English being spoken is rare unless you find yourself in a formal institution, where speaking good English is the order of the day.
ReplyDeleteTo Long live English: Thank you for your comment! Let me first say that I really like your URL name (who ever you are). I was really surprised that the standard of English has gotten so bad. The Ris Low incidents have made me embarrassed to be a Singaporean. The statement made by the man is definitely inviting ridicule. Have people really lost the ability to express themselves properly through speech?
ReplyDeleteTo Yee: Thank you for your comment! I do agree with what you said. As women, we do have to make allowances for men. The media works in such a way to creep into our subconcious and influences our perception and ideals. They are very effective no doubt. They are the public's watchdog, ultimately controlled by our democracy.
ReplyDeleteTo Erickson: Thank you for your comment! Good point made here. But then again, if they made this vaccination compulsory, no one would say anything to go against it. We would just conform with the rest of society because we do trust our government to make the right decisions when it comes to our healthcare.
ReplyDeleteI will not.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel that injecting more and more chemicals into our bodies doesnt do us much good because VIRUSES CAN MUTATE.
More strange diseases may just strike us without warning. So what if we are armed against one but defenceless towards another.
hmm.. personally i would not. im still not vaccinated till now! no sense of urgency you can say. but hey, im strong! i exercise regularly, drink lotsa water, eat healthily... i mean, this mindset of mine is weird. i know. but i am like a normal singaporean, who thinks that i will not get it. even if i got it, i will be cured after eating medicine n rest. so, yup. that is my stand.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous (31st Oct, 9.08am): Thank you for your comment! I concur with what you say. H1N1 has been blown out of proportion to certain extent I suppose? But I think it's all part of the government's way of keeping our "kiasu" population cautious. In any case, however, nobody is too worried about the pandemic. As you mentioned, after all, the more people have died from the common flu and thus there is lower urgency.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous (31st Oct, 9.20am): Thank you for your comment! Good points made there. I would say that news of H1N1 cases in Singapore have definitely come to a halt. The main issue now is the vaccination. Well our Singaporean nature is to be "kiasu" after all. Or so it may seem. Naturally, people would feel somewhat invincible after their country has gone through two pandemics and they survived it. The money issue may also seem reasaonably viable in this economic downturn. Still, I believe that there are groups of people who would see the need to take extra care.
ReplyDeleteTo Yen Ling: Thank you for your comment! Its true that viruses can mutate. Often occuring at a fast rate, within months at a time. Not much information has been given about this new vaccine yet. Therefore, people would not feel it that "safe" to take.
ReplyDeleteTo Vanny: Thank you for your comment! I know you're a healthy person (: But well yeah. Vaccinations are not necessary. They are usually taken by people who are intending to travel abroad, or to the ultimately paranoid. The actual common flu vaccination actually involves the injecting of a synthesised flu strain into our body systems to allow our own bodies to generate antibodies against the common flu. Most people don't know that. And for the people who do, I guess they would definitely think twice about what is actually being injected into their bodies with this new vaccination.
ReplyDeletefirstly, no i wont bother to get vaccinated. the vaccine is far too new. whatever side effects it may have in long (maybe even short) runs are still unknown. even some drugs that have been used for a long time have side effects that puzzle the scientist that produced them. take for example the case of the malaria pill that caused depression in a cheerfuk 19 year old who later (due to the depression killed herself) article was out earlier this yeaar. or the cervical cancer prevention drug that was introduced in malaysia that killed a 15 yr old because it was not aware that the medication conflicted with another preexisting illness that she had.
ReplyDeleteevery pill we take has side effects that we arent even aware off. we just take them so regularly that we take forgranted that they are 'ok' for us.
though this may prevent the flu, i dont think it is needed. after all the common flu still wins the highest number of deaths in the world. since i get a cold every so often, i think i will just take my chances with this one and ride it out.
Yes man! i will take the vaccine! i mean if there is a vaccine that can prevent me from possibly missing days of work, why not! no offense to the writer above, (writers above), but i think i'll take my chances with the new vaccine. i think it is better to be safe than sorry. and if this will keep me safe... why not?
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous (1st Nov, 8.24am): Thank you for your comment! We come back to the point again where people say that they wouldn't get the vaccine due to its current dubious nature. The horror stories that are reported and cited by the media are bound to make people think more than twice about this issue. This begs to question the influence that the media has on our decisions - life-threatening or not.
ReplyDeleteTo Wesley: Thank you for your comment! Well everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. The vaccination is after all, optional. Guarantees for safety are questionable. But if taking it makes you feel more secure, I guess there can be no argument there.
ReplyDelete