If you thought that we had managed to avoid a swine flu crisis, you were sadly mistaken.
Over the weekend President Obama declared the H1N1 virus a national emergency.
Now for me, the biggest question here is simple: is it necessary?
As we have seen time and time again new diseases arise and public fear mounts until the disease is on the proverbial back burner.
Much like the boogey man inside of every child’s closet, new diseases spring up and scare the living daylights out of the population and then, quite anticlimactically, they drift off into posterity. The disease of issue today: swine flu.
Now, let it be known that I believe the terror of this disease is quite unwarranted. Is it dangerous?
Sure.
But the regular run-of-the-mill seasonal flu is dangerous as well. According to an April 28, 2009 article from CNN, seasonal flu has claimed 13,000 lives since the beginning of this year. To dismiss the “regular flu” as non-dangerous is quite the understatement.
But, as with most things, response to the swine flu did not hit home until people started to die. After the death of a local high school student, the Cabell County school system was inundated with outraged parents who thought schools should be closed until this “epidemic” was curbed.
The argument: by sending the children to school they run the risk of getting sick.
Well, to quote the 90s, duh. I wish they could at least be a little more creative than that.
At any given point during the school year, a child is exposed to an incredible number of germs and viruses, all of which could, at some point, be dangerous or deadly. Let’s be real, any public area is a virtual cesspool for germs and disease.
To argue that now, because of H1N1, children are in danger of getting sick is absolutely absurd.
Local Health Departments, as well as the Center for Disease Control, have posted prevention techniques in public places all over the country.
How do you prevent catching the flu?
Nope, there is not some special technique or password, just the same preventative measures you would normally take: wash your hands after using the restroom, don’t eat or drink after people, cover your mouth while coughing. Basically, if you’ve been to kindergarten you should already know this.
Yet, now the virus has been declared a national emergency. Now, I am by no means a scientist, however I have never seen a fire be put out by using gasoline.
By giving validity to the argument that the pig-faced boogey man is going to steal your children, we are facing an uphill battle.
Demand for the vaccine will increase, and everyone who has a sniffle will want to get the shot. Thus leaving less supply for those who actually need the vaccine and are more vulnerable to the illness.
So my advice to all of you is simple: be smart and be safe. However, if you find yourself starting to “oink” please stay away from me.
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