As #Ebolagedon continues to escalate into a white foaming at the mouth frenzy the shopping site Groupon has this special Pandemic Virus Protection and Survival Kit Deal of the Day.
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, for the low low price of just $18.99 (plus $3.99 shipping and handling) you TOO can be protected from the PANDEMIC VIRUS!!! This kit includes everything you need! You get 4 anti-micorbial wipes (1-inch by 1-inch squares), 4 anti-bacterial wipes (1-inch by 1-inch squares), 4 antiseptic wipes (more of those 1-inch by 1-inch squares), 4 disposable thermometers (for those random people on the subway temperature checks), a package of tissues (just in case it’s a cold and not a pandemic), 2 pairs (for a total of 4) of nitrile gloves, 2 N-95 masks, AND a whole 2 fluid ounces of skell gel (hand sanitizer) that meets the TSA packaging requirements for fluids when you get onto the last airliner out of the United States as it collapses from the zombie apocalypse brought on by the pandemic!!!
The best part? It comes with it’s own case!!!
What. A. Steal!
Literally.
They’re stealing people’s money.
I’m all for preparedness. I’m all for education. I’m all for taking the proper precautions. I’m not for this over ballooned hype that results in charlatans selling more snake skin oil kits to an uneducated public. I also hate that I’m not seeing EMS agencies step up when it comes to educating their communities.
In EMS we always cite how HIPAA inhibits us from telling our story to our communities, from communicating our value, and from being recognized as the front line of illness and injury that we are. This whole episode with Ebola is a great illustration of how we could be doing that very thing by raising public awareness through sharing facts and maintaining calm in the storm for our communities. Instead we’re allowing the mass media to once again tell an over the top version of the facts and sensationalized headlines.
So while people go purchase that kit, the mass media crafts new fear inspiring headlines, and EMS agencies sit on their hands staring at each other complaining about how they don’t get the same respect as law enforcement or the fire service from their communities, I’m going to go find an Ebola patient to lick. Luckily there’s one nearby so I don’t have to go far and it happens to be at a hospital that I am intimately familiar with. There’s worse things I could be doing… like listening to Christmas music.
See you after the ebola zombie apocalypse…
