carpedick

So, I’m just gathering a random smattering of facts about the whole Swine Flu thingy. And quite a variety it is. I’m trying to actually sift through and figure out which shit is true and not true. The virus is the H1/N1 virus.

Initially it seems that some of what I’m hearing is that the Swine Flu is similar to the Avian Flu in that it responds to the same vaccination that was given to those when the Avian Flu was all the rage.

Second, a number of media sources are saying to wear masks, however it’s also being said that masks don’t help whatsoever and that the best protection is to wash your hands often, take showers, stay in well ventilated areas, eat healthy, and avoid sick people. (does that sound familiar to anyone else? isn’t that basically what you should always do in order to avoid getting sick?)

Third, on average per year there are 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations out of the average 25 to 50 million infections from the normal flu virus.

I think this helps gain a little perspective about what’s going on with the current potential pandemic.

Also in 1957, an Asian flu pandemic (similar to the Swine Flu) infected some 45 million Americans and killed 70,000. Eleven years later, lasting from 1968 to 1969, the Hong Kong flu pandemic afflicted 50 million Americans and caused 33,000 deaths.

I think the fact that this was caught early on is awesome, but in reality, deaths happen when the flu is involved. So the precautions should always be a factor, especially during flu season.

It seems like this is the next big thing. We went from being fearful of terrorists for 7 years, to being fearful of money, and now they’re trying to ignore the economy and make us fearful for our lives.

Don’t the newspeople just realize that if they had interesting stories, we’d watch for that. That they don’t have to keep us in a constant state of fear to have us tune in.