Comments | anahata56: Swine Flu--Random tidbits

anahata56

Swine Flu--Random tidbits

Apr 30, 2009 10:20

Did you know that, back in 1976, during the last swine flu outbreak, only ONE person died of the flu? And he died on a 50 mile hike with his platoon at Ft. Dix, NJ, which he insisted on doing with pneumonia? The 30 other people who died in 1976 died of the vaccination for swine flu. Some folks died, and some folks were left permanently injured as a ( Read more... )

the great swine flu epidemic of 2009

Comments 19

venischazeik April 30 2009, 15:24:23 UTC

I love this! I read every word. I should sooo grab it and post it everywhere! I can't believe the mass hysteria. Are people that much in need of something to be afraid of? Are they that bored? What in the world leads to all this?

anahata56 April 30 2009, 17:55:06 UTC

Drama.

peaceful_fox April 30 2009, 15:27:45 UTC

Excellent post - thank you! I had a bacon sandwich for breakfast. ;-) I am of the high risk category who needs flu vaccinations every year, BUT I am not overly worried about getting this unless I hear that it is spreading from person to person in my area. If that's the case then I am extra vigilant. Now I am doing what I do for *every* flu season - try to get decent sleep, don't hang around in large crowds, wash my hands often, eat well and just be careful. And if I get sick , I simply won't go to work.

anahata56 April 30 2009, 17:54:41 UTC

When I read the horror stories from 1976 about what happened when an untested vaccine was released (for political reasons, no less), I'm thinking that I'm a lot better off with hot tea, steam, chicken soup and sleep!

noelleleithe April 30 2009, 15:39:26 UTC

Yes. This. The definition of pandemic just applies to how the disease is spreading, not how severe it is or how many people it kills.

Granted, this one is far different from what happened in 1976, when the cases where very localized and never spread all over like they are now. It looks more like 1918, which was really bad BUT happened long before we had the kinds of medical treatments available that we do now. Just respirators and ventilators probably would have saved thousands of lives back then.

Still, it's not like people are dropping dead on every street corner, or even that they're likely to. It's about being prepared, not freaking out.

anahata56 April 30 2009, 15:42:11 UTC

What really would have helped in 1918 was a more commonplace knowledge of basic hygiene and a more effective treatment for strep, which is what killed most people. In those particular areas, we are far more advanced, even if we don't have a reliable vaccine even now, nor can we hope for one.

It's just crazy.

browngirl April 30 2009, 15:45:03 UTC

Hear hear! And man, I wish I could have a bacon sandwich.

anahata56 April 30 2009, 17:52:54 UTC

Me too!

the_paulr April 30 2009, 18:34:03 UTC

We have bacon and I'm thinking about lunch. Hmmm...

ladyqkat April 30 2009, 16:08:15 UTC

Someone else on my f-list posted this link which includes, at the end of the article, the following informative sentence: because not only have the public lost all faith in the media; not only do so many people assume, now, that they are being misled; but more than that, the media themselves have lost all confidence in their own ability to give us the facts.

anahata56 April 30 2009, 16:11:23 UTC

The facts don't sell. People don't want the facts--they want what they want to hear.

They want to hear that this is somehow an event which is not only flooding the world with drama, it's also a drama in which they may just have a chance to participate! What a story for the grandkids! And they might just get on the six o'clock news!

It's bloody ridiculous.