Piggy Flue

[lurkerwithout]

From the f-list:

Lest you dismiss this because you're vigorous and healthy, like the Spanish Flu, it's primarily young and healthy people who have been killed by swine flu.

Hah! I'm old and fat. IMMUNE! IMMUNE!

Comments

No, you are *NOT* immune...

[ellakite]

... and that's what's going to save you.

Seriously: I've read a couple of articles explaining why the Spanish Flu was so deadly to the "young and healthy". Scientists have determined that the virus caused the body's immune system to kick into "overdrive", and start attacking *EVERYTHING*... including the body's own internal organs!

So the better your immune system, the more likely the reaction will kill you.

But your immune system sucks... as does mine. So we're almost certainly going to survive the disease. It's the Jocks who are going to get killed off...

is it wrong of me to want to go back in time to when I was in Junior High School and infect all the Varsity Teams with Spanish Flu?

[brewmoo]

I am astounded with regards to the hype this disease is getting. So overblown by the media it makes me angry.

[cygnia]

Hell, remember the SARS hype/panic only a few years ago?

I've seen worse...

[ellakite]

There was a significant outbreak of Swine Flu back in the early 1970s. I remember that a lot of folks back then were making a big deal about getting vaccinated for it, but at the same time a number of "experts" kept claiming that the side-effects of the vaccine were almost as bad as the disease... and therefore a sizable percentage of the population refused to get vaccinated.

I should also note that this was happening when Gerald Ford was President of the US. As you may recall, there were at least two assassination attempts on the man while he was in office.

One morning, one of the local newspapers had a huge banner headline: PRESIDENT FORD GETS SHOT! DETAILS INSIDE!

So I buy the paper with my heart in my mouth... to see a full-page photo of Gerald Ford receiving his Swine Flu vaccination. He deliberately turned it into a photo op, hoping it would encourage more people to get vaccinated. So President Ford got his Swine Flu shot in front of a host of cameras.

That's just wrong in *SO* many ways...