Government impact on Pandemics. Do they always help?
During the Reagan administration, there was an unpublished press conference that was filmed in 1982 with Larry Speakes, White House Press Secretary discussing the mounting cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) worldwide. During the press conference, there was little acknowledgment from the press secretary that the AIDS epidemic had become a serious issue. The first time it was mentioned Speakes responded by saying “A-I-D-S? I haven’t got anything on it.” (Gibson). The reporter Kinsolving responds saying “It’s known as ‘gay plague” (Gibson). Which at this point the entire press pool dissolves into laughter and it is made clear that the administration does not take the epidemic as a serious matter.
