Opinion: News media must focus on systemic cause-and-effect in pandemic coverage, not just individual choices

Shutdowns in response to the Omicron variant are reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic. But journalists shouldn't cover it the same way they did then (and still do, in many cases), Jon Allsop writes for Columbia Journalism Review.

U.S. news media have tended to emphasize personal responsibility in preventing infection, and though that's important, systemic and institutional factors must also be acknowledged, Allsop writes. That includes availability of tests and vaccines, and fear of losing work from vaccine side effects. "Even coverage that centers systemic risk sometimes treats it as a separate phenomenon from individual action. But systems are made up of individuals, whose choices rebound beyond themselves," he writes. "We don’t yet know exactly what will happen with Omicron, but as we wait to find out, coverage must conceive of individuals’ decisions not only as discrete calculations tailored to their personal circumstances, but as component parts of society-wide chains of transmission and response."

Focusing coverage on individual choice and repercussions means missing the pandemic's greatest impact, Allsop writes: "What we know of Omicron so far suggests that its biggest risk is at this systemic level: most vaccinated people who get it will probably be more or less fine, but so many people could get it that a relatively small percentage of severe cases might overwhelm hospitals anyway—and if that does happen, by the time we can see it, it’ll be too late to stop it." (Throughout Covid, news outlets have struggled conceptually with such lags between cause and visible effect.) Even coverage that centers systemic risk sometimes treats it as a separate phenomenon from individual action. But systems are made up of individuals, whose choices rebound beyond themselves."

Allsop advises, "Coverage must conceive of individuals’ decisions not only as discrete calculations tailored to their personal circumstances, but as component parts of society-wide chains of transmission and response." His report has links to other articles about Covid-19 and coverage of it.