It’s because of the name, isn’t it? Because when we hear ‘swine’, we think, yuck, filthy pigs.
36,000 people in the US alone die from flu every year, which works out to about 100 people a day, IN THE U.S. ALONE, dying from the flu. That’s your common, boring, garden variety flu.
774 died from SARS, the last media event, WORLDWIDE, in a year. Only about 8,000 got sick from it. Worldwide. Your odds of winning the lottery were way better than getting SARS.
People, relax. The swine flu is another media circus, just as was SARS. I know heaps of you out there may be running around screaming ohmygodweregonnadie! No, you're not. Wake up. IT'S THE FLU. Any other well-known flu will kill you the same, but only if you’re already in the risk category for dying from it. Otherwise, you’ll probably miss a few days work and feel like you have, well, the flu.
Yeah, yeah, I know it's a strain never seen before, yadda yadda yadda. That happens all the time too. IT'S STILL JUST THE FLU. Years ago, while living in Hawaii, I got something dubbed the 'Asian flu.' (Such a name wouldn’t be allowed in this day and age-too racist-even though that’s where this strain had originated, in Asia). That, knock on my wooden head, has so far been the only time I’ve ever had the flu, and has also been the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. Did I catch it because it was so serious? Possibly. Or maybe I caught it because I was working nights, partying on the beach till dawn, and then spending my days swimming, scuba diving, sailing. Sleeping was not on my list of things to do. (Ah, the gifts of youth). Did I die? No. Did the world go crazy and panic? No. Did Hawaii get shut down, quarantined? No. Few outside Hawaii got it, except of course for those who dragged it off to their homelands and shared, which is how it got to Hawaii in the first place. No big deal; it was simply a newer version of an old product, rather like Window Vista replacing XP. It sucked, but we survived.
When you’re reading the spectacular headlines, and feeling the urge to take to the bomb shelter, keep in mind that so far, 11 people WORLDWIDE, have died of this strain of flu. With chances being good that yesterday, 100 more in this country alone probably crapped out from all the other strains of flu.
Get some perspective, and go take your vitamin C.
36,000 people in the US alone die from flu every year, which works out to about 100 people a day, IN THE U.S. ALONE, dying from the flu. That’s your common, boring, garden variety flu.
774 died from SARS, the last media event, WORLDWIDE, in a year. Only about 8,000 got sick from it. Worldwide. Your odds of winning the lottery were way better than getting SARS.
People, relax. The swine flu is another media circus, just as was SARS. I know heaps of you out there may be running around screaming ohmygodweregonnadie! No, you're not. Wake up. IT'S THE FLU. Any other well-known flu will kill you the same, but only if you’re already in the risk category for dying from it. Otherwise, you’ll probably miss a few days work and feel like you have, well, the flu.
Yeah, yeah, I know it's a strain never seen before, yadda yadda yadda. That happens all the time too. IT'S STILL JUST THE FLU. Years ago, while living in Hawaii, I got something dubbed the 'Asian flu.' (Such a name wouldn’t be allowed in this day and age-too racist-even though that’s where this strain had originated, in Asia). That, knock on my wooden head, has so far been the only time I’ve ever had the flu, and has also been the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. Did I catch it because it was so serious? Possibly. Or maybe I caught it because I was working nights, partying on the beach till dawn, and then spending my days swimming, scuba diving, sailing. Sleeping was not on my list of things to do. (Ah, the gifts of youth). Did I die? No. Did the world go crazy and panic? No. Did Hawaii get shut down, quarantined? No. Few outside Hawaii got it, except of course for those who dragged it off to their homelands and shared, which is how it got to Hawaii in the first place. No big deal; it was simply a newer version of an old product, rather like Window Vista replacing XP. It sucked, but we survived.
When you’re reading the spectacular headlines, and feeling the urge to take to the bomb shelter, keep in mind that so far, 11 people WORLDWIDE, have died of this strain of flu. With chances being good that yesterday, 100 more in this country alone probably crapped out from all the other strains of flu.
Get some perspective, and go take your vitamin C.
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