Writer's Block: Swine Times

[v_viridian]

Per Wikipedia: "The pandemic lasted from March 1918 to June 1920,[2] spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. It is estimated that anywhere from 20 to 100 million people were killed worldwide..."

Nah, not a bit worried.  Lots of other outbreaks haven't been nearly as bad.  Nope, not worried.  Only checking the news a couple of times

Comments

[aiseiri_47]

Hm, are you serious about being worried?

I feel a little guilty about not being worried. I mean, you look at 1918-1920, the death toll is pretty hight - but that was early 20th century. There were a lot of things people died of back then that we shrug off now due to better healthcare and overall quality of life.

Again, looking at the death toll in Mexico, quite high, but - while I haven't read into the regions most affected, my brain does automatically explain that Mexico has overcrowding issues, and in various areas, poor healthcare and sanitation.

Is there a chance that I or someone I know will catch it and die from it? Well, yeah. But there's also a chance they'll die in a car accident tomorrow; a much higher chance, I'd wager.

If it gets worse, I'll succumb to reason. What I'm worried about at the moment is that the scare will deplete our flu vaccines right in time for bird flu to revisit; considering that bird flu is actually far more dangerous to humans.

[gmariam]

You know, that's what I heard on the radio today: stock up. Just in case you get sick, or lots and lots of other people get sick and you don't want to go out, or just in case the supply lines dry up when panicked politicians start closing borders and airports. It makes me want to run to Costco and drop a bundle, when the logical part of my mind says - wait, it's less than 200 people in less than 20 states. The media is doing a fantastic job of fear-mongering, I must say. Although, I will certainly wash my hands more and watch for sickies to avoid. ;)

[spottedcat83]

The hand-washing is really all we need to do at this point. I have decided not to panic unless the flu actually begins to take a deep hold around here.

The media loves something to hype. They do good things by exposing corruption sometimes. They do stupid things by scaring people when there isn't anything yet to worry about.

So let's all wash our hands and try not to inhale for a few seconds if somebody coughs or sneezes near us.

The last two times I got a cold, I didn't even pass it on to my mom. I used that germ-x gel on my hands every time I blew my nose. It's good stuff.

If it actually becomes an epidemic, then I will worry more.