Too alarmist about swine flu?
Are the media and government officials taking the proper response to swine flu or do you think they are overstating the threat and being alarmist?
Are phases like “raging health menace” — used by The Associated Press — and President Obama’s warning that some schools may have to close, over the top or on target?
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73 comments Add your comment
Pierce Randall
April 29th, 2009
1:36 pm
There doesn’t seem to be very much panic in the first place. People aren’t tearing up Walgreens for Theraflu.
Cindy
April 29th, 2009
1:39 pm
As a matter of fact, the media, CDC, and government seems to be the ONLY ones alarmed right now. I may regret saying this later….but YES they are being way to alarmist at this point.
lukhg
April 29th, 2009
1:44 pm
we should be more worried about the swine we elect to govern us
Andrew
April 29th, 2009
1:47 pm
Uh, Cindy…People in Mexico are dying from Swine Flu. An American has now died and the virus is spreading in the US. I’m not suggesting that anyone panic but pay attention to the CDC website:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
notworried...yet
April 29th, 2009
1:53 pm
Uh Andrew the child that died wasn’t an American it was a Mexican child that came over the border & died here.
Be Well
April 29th, 2009
1:58 pm
No. In this case, I don’t think they are overstating the threat. I am however,concerned about the plan of action if there is need for a natiowide prevention or inoculation.
PS – Andrew, Thanks for putting Miss Cindy in check
PS – Pierce, Is it Tamiflu?
Langford
April 29th, 2009
2:00 pm
So far one person in this country has died in 2009 from swine flu. Since January more than 30,000 in the US have died from the regular annual flu. Where is the drama and coverage of that?
Very overblown! 275 million people and one dead? The news needs something to talk about and the CDC needs to justify themselves!
Andrew
April 29th, 2009
2:02 pm
I stand corrected on the victim’s nationality.
My point was that someone has died here in the US. Whatever deadlier form of the flu virus that is killing people in Mexico has traveled to the US. Don’t think more isn’t coming soon.
Steve
April 29th, 2009
2:02 pm
Only 7 deaths now worldwide.
Kind of like the tomato and pistachio scare for salmonella.
These people obviously don’t know what they are doing.
ND
April 29th, 2009
2:03 pm
I like calling it pig flu. Sounds better.
iCare
April 29th, 2009
2:03 pm
I care the child that died in Texas; Mexican or non-Mexican.
Andrew
April 29th, 2009
2:05 pm
Right, Langford. I trust that your years of public health expertise helped form your opinion.
Roberta
April 29th, 2009
2:05 pm
In 1976, the last time there was a swine flu outbreak 500,000 people died worldwide, about double the number of annual flu deaths. The CDC and WHO are trying to prevent another pandemic of that magnitude. We need to remember the past, lean on the improved medical care and medicine of the present, and stop blowing this off because it isn’t too bad yet.
Savvy
April 29th, 2009
2:06 pm
Does the nationality of the Swine Flu victims matter? A life was lost.
Savvy
April 29th, 2009
2:07 pm
Thanks Roberta!!!
Savvy
April 29th, 2009
2:08 pm
Andrew touché.
shu2stef
April 29th, 2009
2:10 pm
I’m leaving for Playa del Carmen on Saturday. I will have an N95 mask (CDC recommended), Tamiflu, and hand sanitizer as precautions, but this will not deter my vacation. Yes. I believe that this is a bit overblown. Now then…I would certainly avoid Mexico City, but I’ll be over 1000 miles from there.
Mary
April 29th, 2009
2:33 pm
shu2stef,
Do Georgia a favor and don’t come back. Just in case, of course.
bull-gator
April 29th, 2009
2:34 pm
Why should we expect anything less than sensationalist reporting? We’ve become a nation overwhelemed by tabloid news reporting techniques as practiced by the MSM for the last 20 years or so. The sky is falling, the sky is falling!..oh no it isn’t, that’s only rain…silly me.
Joe B
April 29th, 2009
2:40 pm
The perfect storm. I see this as a way of thinning the ranks, so to speak.
The majority of people that actually rely on govt in order to survive day to day, good luck. To the rest that are intelligent enough to make rational decisions about our own well being….we’ll get through this just fine. Government and its mouthpiece, the media, will sensationalize any current event to force feed their agenda down the throats of the drones among us.
sd
April 29th, 2009
2:41 pm
Only time will tell how bad this thing is. It would be irresponsible to not report it.
Steve
April 29th, 2009
2:41 pm
Roberta: From 1976
“These public health commercials from 1976, when doctors feared that an outbreak of the virus in the US could become a pandemic, attempted to heighten fears of the disease to increase the take-up of vaccinations”
The 1976 vaccination campaign is now considered to have been an overreaction based on mistaken fears that the swine flu outbreak would pose the same risk as the Spanish flu pandemic.
Scott
April 29th, 2009
2:41 pm
Illegal aliens taking our jobs and federal monetary means (medicaid), clogging our airwaves with spanish speaking radio stations, and having to press “1″ just to speak in english. Now, the Swine Flu. Just one more reason to TOTALLY shut off our border COMPLETELY from that archaic nation of Mexico.
Steve
April 29th, 2009
2:42 pm
“Many of the 40 millions Americans who signed up for vaccinations questioned the advice of the country’s health experts after the predicted pandemic failed to materialise”
Steve
April 29th, 2009
2:47 pm
Roberta: 1976
“However, the pandemic, which some experts estimated at the time could infect 50 million to 60 million Americans, never unfolded. Only about 200 cases of swine flu and one death were ultimately reported in the U.S., the CDC said”
notworried...yet
April 29th, 2009
2:48 pm
iCare
Did I say I didn’t care?
Savvy
The nationality should be clarified because when you say a US Citizen died from swine flu that’s one thing but when a Mexican dies in the US from it that’s different. The media would say a Frenchmen died in the US from swine flu if that was the case wouldn’t they?
Andrew
April 29th, 2009
2:53 pm
Thanks for the xenophobic rant, Scott. Very insightful. I presume you are a Native American with longstanding roots in the USA.
Hey Joe B…Your sweeping comment about the government “force feeding their agenda” is wonderfully vague and thoughtless. What exactly do you mean?
Titus
April 29th, 2009
2:54 pm
Yeah, Scott, way to go. But you forgot another big reason, the Mexican Drug Cartel in the local area.
Scott
April 29th, 2009
3:03 pm
Well, Andy what do you know about ‘flu’ in general. You can die from regular flu, too, sucka. You’re an idiot to think this is all too important just yet.
momof4
April 29th, 2009
3:04 pm
How much of our stockpiled Tamiflu/Relenza is going to be used on all the Mexican’s illegally crossing our borders for medical care of this flu? They aren’t going to get the proper healthcare in their country, so you KNOW there will be a run on our border and a drain in our emergency supplies of medications. Our border states should be on alert for this problem.
Dr. Moreau
April 29th, 2009
3:06 pm
This is like a world wide game of Simon says. Government = Simon. Brainwashed constituency = the players that continue to play the game. IQ of players is inversely proportional to the amount of time they participated in this govt game of Simon Says (ie: for those still in the game, IQ continues to drop….but current players deserve some credit, you are very attentive!)
Ricardo
April 29th, 2009
3:07 pm
This is the Camel”s nose in the tent for socialized medicine.We’ll see how that works out. Probably as well as the post office, social security, VA hospitals,Medicare and other entitlement programs.
atlanta native
April 29th, 2009
3:13 pm
1) It is being used to promote the agendas of certain constituencies, true. But so is everything.
2) As disease can spread in a geometric progression, small numbers become big very quickly, so concern is important even at the initial stages
3) Panic or backing legislation based on the flu is pointless
Andrew
April 29th, 2009
3:16 pm
Thanks for the flu tip, Scott. Nice to see you’ve moved from bigot to epidemiologist.
Some of you guys should go back to listening to Rush and AM radio. Don’t worry…no one is taking your guns or making you marry a homosexual. These are the things you worry about besides illegal immigration. Wait, socialized medicine too.
Gary
April 29th, 2009
3:19 pm
Someone please tell Roberta that the 76′ Swine Flu scare was just that……a scare. 500,000 people did not die. Now 500,000 Americans and 50 million world wide died from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. The 76 scare was proven to be way overblown by government officials.
So far only 7 people world wide have died from this virus. It was reported earlier that more than 100 people have already died. Talk about this thing being overblown. 36,000 people die each year in the U.S. from the average flu. The reason this is affecting those in Mexico so much is because they do not have access to quality care and medicine like we do in the U.S. Those in this country who have contracted this virus have also recently visited Mexico or surrounding areas. The sad news of a child passing away is never good regardless what caused it. But people need to read the entire report on the death and learn that the child had other problems prior to coming to the U.S. for treatment.
Chuck
April 29th, 2009
3:31 pm
Did anyone mention that Mexico has nationalized health care?
Joe B
April 29th, 2009
3:38 pm
Andrew – in a nutshell, the majority of folks are too stupid or lazy to form their own opinions based on actual research or experience. Common sense is slowly, but surely, disappearing from our way of life as I remember it. More people would just as soon let the government dictate what is and isn’t true, or right, or best or…….
This latest “problem” is no different than any other of the “gloom and doom” events of the last 30 years. Nothing like mass hysteria to fuel a power hungry government into acquiring more of what it craves…..more power. I hope this simplified things for you.
Power to the people, because only the strong will survive.
Melinda
April 29th, 2009
3:43 pm
Three things to note here:
1. Our Government could care less about the borders. Not sure who is sleeping with Mexico’s President – but it sure must be good stuff for the US to continue to patronize him.
2. The CDC is not giving us the real numbers – it is probably already in the upper thousands. If you believe the timetable they have stated it takes to spread, the numbers from yesterday to today have to have greatly increased. They have their own agenda in reporting the numbers.
3. I am sure at this point the main focus is Obama figuring a way to spin this so he looks like our savior… Can’t wait to see what they come up with.. BTW, don’t we already have socialized medicine? Seems to me the last time I had to go to the emergency room, all the Mexicans were getting free medical – No Habla Espanol means NO INSURANCE. Of course, I had to pay for my care through my Insurance Plan. Imagine being responsible and paying for your own Insurance…..What a concept, Mr. Obama………
MrLiberty
April 29th, 2009
3:45 pm
Maybe we are sounding the alarm about the wrong aspect of this:
http://www.knowledgeofhealth.com/newsletters/04252009b.pdf
Hmm
April 29th, 2009
3:46 pm
I have no idea….I sure hope it is being overblown.
John J
April 29th, 2009
3:48 pm
How many people died yesterday from cancer and heart disease? I’m guessing the number is greater than 1.
Lady
April 29th, 2009
3:51 pm
Yea well my feelings are this. Maybe if the US government were doing their job and keeping illegals out of this country, they would also keep their sicknesses out too. So much of this is brought on by dirty conditions and the US’s inability to do the right thing by Obama and his tax evading staff. Keep tooned in. If nothing happens it will be because of Obama and his (IM RIGHT ON TOP OF THIS ROSE) attitude. If something bad happens well its because mexico has owned America and our people for years. They are flooding here to get medical attention (free of charge) and take american jobs. Enough said there too.
secretmachine
April 29th, 2009
3:55 pm
The sad fact is that this is not overblown. We are way overdue for another pandemic, but we should all be aware that the fatality rate of this strain is as of yet unknown. In fact, the number of deaths are over 150, the causes of death from the 150 are not going to be flu. Like the Spanish flu of 1918 most deaths will be from complications such as pneumonia, due to the over reaction that viruses like this can trigger in the immune system which systematically flood the lungs. This is the true danger with this virus. The WHO official stated only seven deaths have been confirmed, but I would question the knowledge of, or the data available to, this official since she also claimed that there were only seventy some odd cases world wide when in fact the CDC has confirmed over ninety cases in the U.S. alone. Also we must realize that there are likely many, many more cases of this virus that either have not been reported or have not been tested because once one positive test comes from a cluster, then the assumption is made that the rest of the cluster is positive. The remaining cases in that cluster will not be added to the number total unless positive specimens are obtained, but in many cases are not sought. Right now we need to just not panic, but to simply wait and see what the virulency turns out to be. Over the next few weeks we will hopefully find the symptoms will remain treatable with Tamiflu and Relenza. If that remains the case then the true danger of this would not be for industrialized nations, but for nations of the third world or second world that do not have the capabilities to deal with or monitor a situation such as this. Mexico is a great example of this, however their capabilities are much better than countries in Africa and Asia where this virus could become an impressive killer.
MrLiberty
April 29th, 2009
3:56 pm
Steve – The vaccinations did more damage then the Swine Flu did. Multiple deaths and numerous cases of Guiliane Barre syndrome (don’t know if I spelled that right).
Plans are already in place for mandatory vaccinations or a year in prison. Figure they will just kill you rather than waste the court time. This is all about control. Certainly this couldn’t be a released bioweapon to distract everyone from the global financial collapse.
Kevin Bacon, Poet
April 29th, 2009
3:57 pm
Spam flu, ham flu,
Carnitas flu, miss piggy flu,
Pork flu, dork flu,
Squeal-like-a-pig flu.
Dan
April 29th, 2009
3:58 pm
Of course it is overblown
“Never waste a good crisis”
Scott
April 29th, 2009
3:59 pm
Ok, there Andrew. Do us all a favor and visit Mexico City with all of your left-nut wing friends and family real soon. See ya in the next life, Mr.know-it-all!
Andrew
April 29th, 2009
4:00 pm
Yay! More xenophobia! Thanks, Lady.
Interesting that you blame Mr. Obama for our immigration problem after just three months in office. Are you aware that the US “annexed” (i.e. stole) Texas from Mexico in the Mexican-American War?
Personally, I think we should give it back.
Noelle
April 29th, 2009
4:00 pm
Health officials aren’t overreacting. They know how a pandemic starts, and this new flu fits the bill perfectly. Still, they’re being very careful to qualify everything they say. Those “confirmed” cases are only the ones that have been tested and proven to be caused by this specific strain. Be honest: how many of you who’ve had flu in your life have gone to the doctor and had the specific type tested? There are likely hundreds or thousands of more cases in the US that haven’t been confirmed (and may never be confirmed).
What happened in 1976 was an overreaction because the alarm was sounded based on a handful of cases in one location. That’s far different from hundreds of cases in 7 countries (and counting).
The media is overreacting to some degree, but they live for this stuff, so that’s to be expected.
Scott
April 29th, 2009
4:04 pm
Seems to me that this is being overblown to me, but we will have to wait and see I guess. Nothing wrong with taking precautions but it does seem to be a slow news week so this gets more coverage. It would not surprise me if our goverenment was adding fuel to the fire here. By showing how many will not be able to afford proper medical care in the event of a pandemic, they can push harder for the national healthcare plan. Typical government, manipulate for its own good. Not the good of the people! Also, I think the republicans would be dong the same right now. This is not a shot at just the current administration.