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Sunday, December 17, 2006

The Looming Pandemic

Winter has officially arrived in the desert, before the calendar said it's time. Yeck! I think it's going to be a blistering 49 degrees here in Vegas today, and after the rain last night, it's bone-chilling cold (the worst kind!).

With the winter comes the hype about another flu pandemic. Read here, one of many articles about it. I read an article last night (that I can't find today) about the flu pandemic of 1918. Many states only have flu pandemic strategies on paper, meaning a lot of us are screwed if it happens anytime soon. Haven't we come a long way since 1918? Don't we as a society understand the transmission of diseases much better since then? But how will society function should a pandemic occur? If the fire department is sick and dying, who will answer the 911 call? How will the government operate? Will workers get fired when they stay home to care for sick family and keep children at home? It's all very scary to consider, but I must wonder the media hype; we all know how reliable the media is to provide the truth from all angles. The article I read last night mentioned we are overdue for a major pandemic, and that there were three in the last century.

What do you make of it? Do you believe the hype? As an admitted germaphobe, I'm nervous.

5 comments:

Fred said...

Anytime we have to depend on the government to handle large-scale issues, (think Katrina) I get nervous.

It's up to us as individuals to do everyting we can to handle it if it arrives. I've got the medicine cabinet stocked with stuff if we need it.

Lily said...

I agree that it is up to us to do what we can. The easiest thing people can do is wash their hands more during cold & flu season to help cut down on the spread of germs.

Cupcake Blonde said...

I think one of the major problems with the flu and how it can get out of control is the idea we have to come to work no matter what. I don't know about anyone else, but my bosses make me feel so guilty for calling in sick that I drag myself into work and try to function, meantime spreading my germs all over the place.

Ken said...

I tend to agree with Fred - anytime we need to rely on the federal government for a large scale anything is just a disaster waiting to happen.

This being said, I think they "doom and gloomers" are just like those that parade around with the "dire" hurricane predictions.

I blame it all on the proliferation of cable and internet news sources that have nothing better to report.

Martin said...

I'm going to start washing my hands more, starting now. B)