What relevance! Just think of the grants!
I'm being sarcastic, but, then, I'm not.
If these people can't think of a reason, perhaps they should be studying the epidemic of abject stupidity in the ranks of academia. Maybe they caught it from the cat's litter box, or perhaps it is endemic in a population attracted to ivory towers. I hope they have fun grading papers this year...or will the grad students pick up the fomites?
“It appears Harvard epidemiologists and former Deans of Schools of Public Health are looking at the potential fodder for papers and studies for years to come, provided enough Americans get sick. What relevance! Just think of the grants! “
I’d say you are right.
Imagine every corporate medical company wonk just salivating on the money they get to fight a disease that was mishandled. Even midlevel executives are loving the money coming from corporate coffers right now.
My wife is a corporate Director at a national hospital system and the activity from Ebola is significant and growing fast. You can just imagine the other Directors and higher just loving that their departments are getting loads of money for everything from Ebola training to physical preparations to handle Ebola patients.
Medical people on whole really do care about their patients and won’t do anything to harm them or allow Ebola to spread, but that money is really appreciated and enjoyed.
Those Harvard public health researchers would never get another grant if they didn’t agree with the party line.
Fortunately Harvard itself is restricting travel to and from W Africa.