Friday, May 01, 2009
Swine flu hysteria
With 200+ cases of this virus confirmed in the entire U.S., a mass hysteria is sweeping the world. I have even seen a very few people in New York and Jersey City wearing face masks! OK, a couple of dozen of those cases were right here in the City, and there are undoubtedly quite a few undiagnosed people walking around as carriers. Yes, more people will get this flu.
A baby died so we have a serious pandemic? I feel dreadful for the parents and family of this baby, but put into perspective, every year, flu viruses claim lives of very young, very old and very sick people. If this virus starts killing otherwise healthy people, it is time to get worried, but this is at most a remote possibility. At least wait until a few people you know get sick before starting to worry. Then again, what flu season has ever passed by without you or people you know getting sick from it? I will only start to worry when reports have it that the number of reported infections is growing exponentially and low-risk people are winding up in the hospital, or worse.
In the meantime, take your hand sanitizer with you. If you see someone in a confined space who seems ill, get at least 6 feet away from them. In New York at least, don’t worry about touching the hand rails. So few people here sneeze into their hands that these might be more germ free than they should be! (I wish that was nothing more than irony or sarcasm, but unfortunately, it happens to be true!) Just don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth with the same part of your hand that you use to grasp hold of the rail. However, this is sound advice for every day, even if there is no health scare.
On a slightly different and certainly lighter note, now that we are hearing this virus being called H1N1, am I the only person who can’t get the Gorillaz song M1 A1 out of his mind?
Viagra Online
A baby died so we have a serious pandemic? I feel dreadful for the parents and family of this baby, but put into perspective, every year, flu viruses claim lives of very young, very old and very sick people. If this virus starts killing otherwise healthy people, it is time to get worried, but this is at most a remote possibility. At least wait until a few people you know get sick before starting to worry. Then again, what flu season has ever passed by without you or people you know getting sick from it? I will only start to worry when reports have it that the number of reported infections is growing exponentially and low-risk people are winding up in the hospital, or worse.
In the meantime, take your hand sanitizer with you. If you see someone in a confined space who seems ill, get at least 6 feet away from them. In New York at least, don’t worry about touching the hand rails. So few people here sneeze into their hands that these might be more germ free than they should be! (I wish that was nothing more than irony or sarcasm, but unfortunately, it happens to be true!) Just don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth with the same part of your hand that you use to grasp hold of the rail. However, this is sound advice for every day, even if there is no health scare.
On a slightly different and certainly lighter note, now that we are hearing this virus being called H1N1, am I the only person who can’t get the Gorillaz song M1 A1 out of his mind?
