Community | August 31, 2009 | 22 comments

Time to worry about swine flu yet?

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/31/AR2009083100393.html

Image
afitzgerald

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/31/AR200...

News today is that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has swine flu. Now not that that's a harbinger of apocalypse and it's time to go running down to your local medical supply store to stock up on surgical masks - the Colombian President says he'll just be working from home as he heals.

But this is the latest in a string of swine flu stories (in fact, Uribe is the second Latin American leader to contract H1N1) and the Washington Post reminds us that flu season is fast approaching.

So honestly - is this really something we need to be worried about? Is this an overhyped story from a media in the August doldrums?
  1. groups:
    Community,   Current Tonight,   News_Featured
  2. tags:
    News,  Swine Flu,  News_Featured,  Colombia,  2 more
  3.     
    |

22 comments // Time to worry about swine flu yet?

  • Dina_Yazdani
  • Wilde1
  • pennyharford
    • 0
      pennyharford  

    • there was a similar scare in 1976 about swine flu. I did not get the vaccine because I was pregnant. Many people had negative side effects including Guillain-Barré syndrome ,which can cause paralysis. No flu shots for me!

    • 3 years ago
  • biggranny
  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  

    • with less than 500 deaths this year from the so-called "swine flu", Aspirin is more dangerous than this killer pandemic......

    • 3 years ago
  • diabolical44
    • 0
      diabolical44  

    • I'd be more worried about the haphazard vaccine they're coming up with rather than the actual flu itself.

      think about it, the southern hemisphere is experiencing their winter right now. How come millions of people are dying from the Swine flu in Brazil then? it's all fucking bullshit media driven hysteria aimed at driving up the stock of the major pharmaceutical companies.

      the fact is, that the swine flu is no more deadly than the regular ass flu flu. They just want you to be panicked and scared so they can control you and get you to do things you otherwise wouldn't do.

    • 3 years ago
  • TheKandiceNicole
    • 0
      TheKandiceNicole  

    • The big H1N1 does scare me because I have such a weak immune system and I'm sick all the time, especially at the moment. I just went through an entire box of tissues.

    • 3 years ago
  • rebel3j
    • 0
      rebel3j  

    • whatever you do don't get the vaccine
      there trying to lower the population and they are tricking people into taking a vaccination that will only give them the swine flu or worse!!!!

      please do research on your own if you don't believe me

    • 3 years ago
  • Katherine_Wilson_James
    • 0
      Katherine_Wilson_James  

    • That's a very good question. How many deaths have there been from H1N1? How many people have contracted it?

      And how do these statistics compare the normal flu strains?

      With a comparison, we should be able to see if this really is a pandemic of sorts and we should panic, or if it's just blown out of proportion with the media coverage.

      I'll post some statistics when I find them.

    • 3 years ago
  • Katherine_Wilson_James
    • 0
      Katherine_Wilson_James  
    • Katherine_Wilson_James:

      Okay, straight from the CDC, here's the most recent numbers, on August 31st, roughly 8:30 pm PST.

      Total U.S. 2009 H1N1 Flu Hospitalizations and Deaths
      Posted August 28, 2009, 1:00 PM ET

      Reporting States and Territories* 52
      (Includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.)
      Hospitalized Cases 8,843
      Deaths 556

      Now, as for the other strains of the flu, I found this: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/viruses/types.htm
      post it here if you find recent statistics for these strains of flu.

    • 3 years ago
  • MilchMann
    • 0
      MilchMann  
    • Katherine_Wilson_James:

      Keep in mind those are the hospitalized cases, not the number of contractions. The number of deaths from the flu are on par with the number we incur every year from other flu strains... this is hyperbole... just like meningitis was in the 80s.

      If you want a more accurate representation you should look at the age ranges of the deaths... seniors are far more likely to die of respertory infections than younger people are and they account for the majority of deaths related to the flu every year.

      Here are the statistics by state on the percentage of deaths... with the exception of New York they are all under 2% and most are under 1%...

      http://h1n1.flu-virus.org/H1N1-US-deaths.php

    • 3 years ago
  • QuestionGeek
    • 0
      QuestionGeek  

    • I can't help but think that a lot of people are going to be unnecessarily poisoned with these vaccines and the pharmaceutical industry will be laughing all the way to the bank. Not like it hasn't happened before, cause it has.

    • 3 years ago
  • BullDogg
    • 0
      BullDogg  
    • QuestionGeek:

      I think the question should be "why the swine flu, why now?" Rumor has it that this flu is no more powerful than the common flu, but more people will get it. But why the forced vaccines (in MA, possibly)? I think I would rather be quaranteened in my house for the winter than get pricked with a needle full of god knows what.

    • 3 years ago
  • BullDogg
    • 0
      BullDogg  

    • Making the people scared allows the gov't to push through legislation that they normally wouldn't be allowed to. Like the Patriot Act for example, and more recently the outrageous bill in the Massachussetts house of rep. Like Machiavelli said: "It's better to rule through fear than love if both cannot be achieved."

    • 3 years ago
  • ramdas
    • 0
      ramdas  

    • h1n1 is a combination to unlock the cell's defenses as is h5n1. Both bird and swine are killers but to a small % of the population, the spanish flu was the real killer.
      We should all wear surgical masks and say it's in honor of Michael Jackson.

    • 3 years ago
  • Ares
    • 0
      Ares  

    • No. I don't understand why the CDC doesn't just come out with a commercial telling all these idiots to calm down. Know what the recommended prevention is? Wash your hands, take vitamins, sleep, exercise. Know what the recommended treatment is? TAMIFLU. THIS ISN'T A PANDEMIC.

    • 3 years ago
  • Wilde1
  • pandaman2105
  • EclecticBadger
  • metalcookiesxy70
    • 0
      metalcookiesxy70  

    • It came from the media, which is untrustworthy.
      People believe it, a majority, a very large one...

      That doesn't mean its true, however.....

      The best thing is to do is to conclude if you have the "flu", then take the shot, but if you don't then do not worry, as much.....

    • 3 years ago
  • afitzgerald
  • bailey78

top videos