Swine Flu National Emergency? Or Hype

[Chevyman85]

Now that Obama elevated the current N1H1 Flu to a "National Emergency" is this thing for real? Just curious to hear what everyone things. I personally thing that this thing is all Hype. I'm not any more worried about N1H1 than I am about getting a head cold. 400 people die from it and it is a pandemic? I don't follow the logic.

 

[megaladon6]

since it's a national emergency, he gets emergency powers to put his healthcare system into effect. and even if he can only do it temporarily, he gets to point to this as why we have to have socialist healthcare.
it's complete bullshit, swiner deaths are what, 5000 world wide? the regular flu kills an average of 36,000/year.

 

[Chevyman85]

I agree, I think that this whole emergency is to show the need for socialized health care. The media hype and the way the President is pushing the issue there is some type of end-game.

 

[custom442]

H1N1 is no gimmick, we just have great healthcare in the US so we usually can stop it. Get a regular cold and you're usually better in a few weeks without treatment. Can't say the same for the swine flu

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Swine flu can kill you, but so can a lot of other things like regular flu. H1N1 (I think) did kill millions world wide in 1917, and is the most deadly pandemic the world has ever seen. That being said, even if you get H1N1, your chances of it being severe are relatively remote. Is it hype? Sure it is! Obama loves to play the media and the ignorant to advance his agenda. However, it should be taken seriously enough that everyone knows the signs and treatment. Early treatment is the best way to avoid death. So, pop some pills and buy a box of tissues and you should be fine. If not, well... is death really all that bad? I mean, at least you won't have to pay taxes!

 

[custom442]

Well I'm no expert on the swine flu, but it was a hot topic in one of my classes this semester. From what I gather it has a different protein configuration than the average flu, meaning there are many people who don't have antibodies against this strain. And the evidence is in the average person who comes down sick with it. It's generally healthy people between their teens and 40's - opposite of the average flu that attacks the very young or old. That shows the flu doesn't attack a weak immune system (the key point about the swine flu). It's also spread heavily through 3 species (if I remember right) of animals, more than the average seasonal flu which usually spreads through humans.

It can be looked at in a number of ways, yes it's just another flu, similar to all the other ones out there. But it's no hype, the difference is in how it spreads which is unusual.

 

[megaladon6]

there is no "average flu" strain. the flu shifts every year which is why you need a shot every year. besides, the issue here isn't whether or not the swine flu is dangerous, but if it warrants this level of panic and especially to be declared a national emergency?
like i said, in over a year swine has killed 5000 people. "regular" flu kills an average of 36,000. you're talking 1/7th or 14%.

 

[Chevyman85]

there is no "average flu" strain. the flu shifts every year which is why you need a shot every year. besides, the issue here isn't whether or not the swine flu is dangerous, but if it warrants this level of panic and especially to be declared a national emergency?
like i said, in over a year swine has killed 5000 people. "regular" flu kills an average of 36,000. you're talking 1/7th or 14%.

I agree, its not any thing worse than any other flu, the difference is that schools are being closed and the media is making a disaster out of it. Your more likley to get TB than N1H1, but no one is freaking out about that, both are airborne and contagous.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

H!N! does have a higher mortality rate than the normal flu on a percentage basis. It also goes after people who are young in disproportionate numbers, which is something the 1917 flu also did. However, while this is a more virulent strain than normal, it is nowhere near as virulent as the 1917 flu. It is a risk that should be heeded, but it is not a reason to duct tape up your windows and doors, get lots of plants to make oxygen to breathe, and live off canned foods until the coast is clear in 6-12 months either. We are not going to see something like in the movie "12 Monkeys". Should you get the vaccine? It probably is not a bad preventative measure to consider as your chances of death from the vaccine are less than by the disease itself. Will I get the vaccine? Probably not. I can't afford it, and am terrified of needles, syringes, etc. in a way that makes a cat's aversion to water seem tame by comparison ( It took 9 Valliums to calm me down enough to get a blood test last time. I can pass out from merely discussing anything that involves a needle.) If I could get the nasal spray vaccine for free, I would do it because I KNOW I am going to get it. I deal with the public every day and I WILL come in contact with it enough to contract it.

 

[Renthorin]

What cracks me up is what my local news people are saying. The other day this was the bomb they dropped on those watching:

"What the officials are afraid of now is that the virus might mutate."

Really? A virus that mutates? OMG...what a newsflash.