Please Shut Up about the Swine Flu!!
*sigh* No, really. I'm tired of reading about reasonable, smart people I know freaking out about the Swine Flu. Enough is enough. Please read on:
i seem to be missing something about this swine flue pandemic. for one, it's a strain of the flu virus. the flu virus is notorious for frequent mutations and is difficult to predict which strain to use in flu vaccines. and, yes, this doesn't come from strain a or b which are the most common strains of seasonal flu, but the spread of this strain seems to be no different from a typical flu spread. oh, but people die from this strain. really, and people don't die from other strains of the flu? in a typical flu season, about 36,000 people die from the flu*. so, we need to freak out about this why?
but the w.h.o. raised their level of alert from 4 to 5**! yeah, level five means that an outbreak has been confirmed in at least two w.h.o. countries and that a global pandemic is imminent. well, what is a pandemic, anyway? that's where a non-seasonal virus spreads easily from person to person around the globe. note the total lack of equating pandemic with panic and freak out.
so, let's recap: this strain of flu virus is contagious, just like any other strain of flu. this strain has killed triple-digit humans. the cdc states that a typical flu season kills on average quintuple-digit humans.
and are you really more likely to get swine flu than a seasonal flu without a flu vaccine? i know of three people who got the flu this winter AND had flu shots. i opted for not getting vaccinated and managed to stay healthy. am i lucky? perhaps, but i also do my part to take simple steps like washing my hands regularly (not compulsively), making sure to cough and sneeze into my arms, and not going to work when i'm ill. gosh, i don't even carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer around everywhere i go.
so, news media, can we stop with the 24/7 coverage? let's be reasonable and focus on diseases that we know already affect tens of millions of people worldwide like heart disease and cancer, instead of those that might. no amount of discussion and coverage is going to increase people taking appropriate steps to stay healthy.
*Influenza (the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year. Every year in the United States, on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and; about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications. (From the CDC's website.)
**Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
*sigh* No, really. I'm tired of reading about reasonable, smart people I know freaking out about the Swine Flu. Enough is enough. Please read on:
i seem to be missing something about this swine flue pandemic. for one, it's a strain of the flu virus. the flu virus is notorious for frequent mutations and is difficult to predict which strain to use in flu vaccines. and, yes, this doesn't come from strain a or b which are the most common strains of seasonal flu, but the spread of this strain seems to be no different from a typical flu spread. oh, but people die from this strain. really, and people don't die from other strains of the flu? in a typical flu season, about 36,000 people die from the flu*. so, we need to freak out about this why?
but the w.h.o. raised their level of alert from 4 to 5**! yeah, level five means that an outbreak has been confirmed in at least two w.h.o. countries and that a global pandemic is imminent. well, what is a pandemic, anyway? that's where a non-seasonal virus spreads easily from person to person around the globe. note the total lack of equating pandemic with panic and freak out.
so, let's recap: this strain of flu virus is contagious, just like any other strain of flu. this strain has killed triple-digit humans. the cdc states that a typical flu season kills on average quintuple-digit humans.
and are you really more likely to get swine flu than a seasonal flu without a flu vaccine? i know of three people who got the flu this winter AND had flu shots. i opted for not getting vaccinated and managed to stay healthy. am i lucky? perhaps, but i also do my part to take simple steps like washing my hands regularly (not compulsively), making sure to cough and sneeze into my arms, and not going to work when i'm ill. gosh, i don't even carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer around everywhere i go.
so, news media, can we stop with the 24/7 coverage? let's be reasonable and focus on diseases that we know already affect tens of millions of people worldwide like heart disease and cancer, instead of those that might. no amount of discussion and coverage is going to increase people taking appropriate steps to stay healthy.
*Influenza (the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year. Every year in the United States, on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and; about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications. (From the CDC's website.)
**Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
Worse still is the amount of slack this will give the male half of the population. The periodic bouts of 'man flu' that sweep the world (usually accompanied by lots of groaning, self-pity, writing of wills and getting their wives to make them cups of tea), will now receive an extra boost, with men everywhere collapsing on sofas (you have to be expertly trained to spot the difference from everyday behaviour here), and blaming it on the bacon they had for breakfast.