Swine flu and... Hip Hop?
MC Kelly Kel on the mic: Check one two, wash your hands to protect from the swine flu. Sorry, that was awful. But I'm OK with that. I am not a rapper; I'm a reporter. I can play my position.
Doctors are not rappers either, and yet, some physicians unfortunately have turned to hip hop to spread the message of swine flu prevention. Take Dr. Mache Seibel, a.k.a. DocRock, who has teamed up with insurance carrier Cigna for a rap public service announcement to teach children how to ward of the H1N1 virus. No comment is necessary, I will let the video speak for itself:
Still cringing? Me too. Good intentions aside, it's hard for us old peeps to stay young and hip. So after watching DocRock, I said to myself, why bother risking such embarrassment?
But then I stumbled upon another rapping doc -- who has skills. Seriously. Check out Dr. John Clarke, a Long Island, NY doctor whose freestyle was so good he was named as one of 10 finalists in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services search for a swine flu PSA. Then tell me which one you think is better.






Our colleague Jill Rosen over a the
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I spent yesterday
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In France, everyone kisses. The light cheek-to-cheek kiss is a social ritual as French as haute couture and people-watching sidewalk cafes. But the tradition, known as la bise, could be the latest victim of -- what else? -- the global swine flu pandemic.
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It appears I have peeved the folks at the American Meat Institute, whose website tells me is a national trade organization that represents most meat processors.
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Public health officials worldwide are
"If you've seen one influenza season, you've seen one influenza season," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has told me more than once. It's an attempt at some medical humor, I guess, but there may be plenty of truth in his quip.



