What’s your personal reaction to this possible pandemic?
100s of thousands of students won’t be in school tomorrow and more to follow I am sure. The borders are still open. VP Biden misspoke telling everyone to avoid airplanes, subways and places that you are confined around people. President Obama gave the Bush administration a huge compliment on their preparedness for the Bird Flu (50 million Tami Flu vaccinations ready) in his 100 day address last nigh. Mexico has closed all non-essential businesses.
Where would you go if things got serious? Do you personally prepare? Good to overact or just play it cool?




in case you missed his remarks, you should see them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw1h2t355Bo
absolutely ludicrous for a leader to be saying that.
Regarding VP Biden, I love that the press secretary spoke out later and said “I know what he said, but this is what he meant to say.” Wouldn’t we all like ‘do-overs’ like that???? This administration needs to think first and speak later (put mind in gear before mouth in motion, so to speak)!!!
Let’s talk personal responsibility versus preparedness organizations should have…
Personally, I think it is all dramatized. I am not going to avoid going around people, etc.
However, if I was the superintendent of a school or president of a university, I would much rather do too much. For instance, my alma mater has more supplies than would fathom from preparation for the Bird Flu. They also set a standard that all classes should have at least one online class per term in order to get everyone comfortable with online teaching in case of any sort of tragedy. I think the campus could close and class remain as scheduled.
If things are contained all this if over near instantly. If we act dumb and take no precaution there is a possibility (arguably quite small) that we could experience a 1918 type pandemic.
While I am usually the biggest germaphobe around, I think we’re making way too much out of this. First of all, 36000 people die each year of the regular flu, and we never make this big a deal of that! With safe handwashing practices and being aware of the first symptoms, we can avoid this turning into a pandemic. I think we need to educate everyone on what to do to avoid being infected–keeping a good distance, handwashing, knowing the virus lives 15 min in the air and 48 hours on surfaces (Greg, correct me if I’m wrong, but this is what I’ve heard). Next, we should educate them on what to do if they become symptomatic–go to the doctor! Don’t wait for the symptoms to become worse! It’s very treatable with Tamiflu, so why panic?
I cannot believe the Ft. Worth ISD is closed until May 8th for preventative measures, along with other individual schools. Would we ever close one school, much less an entire district for one or two students getting the flu? I realize we have a vaccine for the yearly influenza and don’t for swine flu, but with safe health practices, this can all be avoided!
They’re making a mountain out of a molehill, so to speak!
If the news media would use their forum for education, I think we could avoid some of the panic that’s been generated.
I just think it’s silly that our company is setting up a command center for customers to call in to see what we are doing to reduce risks and service interruption. Doubt many customers will actually call.
Some thoughts on the subject, from a physician’s point of view…
(1) There is still absolutely no need to panic. H1N1 is still currently no more lethal (in fact, it may be less so) than the “normal” flu. As with the “normal” flu, those who are immunocompromised or at the extremes of age (infants, elderly) are most at risk from having a more severe case.
(2) The best place to be in the event of a pandemic (which it is NOT yet…currently a level 5 pandemic alert by the World Health Organization) is isolated but still within close proximity to good medical care. This is not the time to go to your island vacation home and “ride it out.” If you contracted H1N1 there and had a severe reaction, there would be no one to offer any assistance.
(3) As the CDC, WHO, and other health organizations are advising, the best preventive care is to wash your hands frequently and avoid being close to others who have flu-like symptoms.
(4) VP Biden is irresponsible and needs to keep his mouth shut.
I just play it cool. In fact, I was talking to a coworker today about how people love to hype things up. Because it’s “new” (even though its not) and has confirmed deaths, people have to crazy about it. But more people die from car wrecks than the flu - and they still drive to work. How about we work on cleanliness — wash your hands and be clean and stay healthy.