I have held off doing any commenting on this whole swine flu panic, I wanted to first try and get a sense of what was happening first. I remember the fiasco of the first "outbreak" back in the 70's, I was a kid but still old enough to remember it, and nothing came of it accept a disasterous vaccination effort that killed 25 or so people and parylized over 500. The flu itself, killed one person.
I have had issues from day one with the department of homeland security being involved in this, accept at the border. I think this is an issue the surgeon general should be adressing in absence of a health and human services secretary (and even that has issues in itself), Bush, somehow managed to tag this reponsability to the department of homeland security durring is authoritarian craze a few years ago and Obama has not reversed it yet.
But on to the hype surrounding this. I think we are way over reacting both in government and society. Swine flu is NOT a deadly serious flu, no more than any other flu, which lills thousands every year, but it seems since it has a fancy name attatched to it, it gets special attention and is being seen as an oportunity by our government who is taking advantage of this panic and goddess only knows what ends they will take that to, I shudder to think about it.
Congressman Ron Paul, who is also a veteran physician, released a statement on it and in this statement, injects his usual cmoon sense and pragmatic aproach to the issue. Here is the video, I would suggest everyone take a moment and listen to him, he makes a good effort to bring us back to our senses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB5-Y08qbjo&feature=player_embedded
[question posted by xfahctor]responses and comments:
Can someone give me what Ron Paul says? I have no sound whatsoever on my computer so watching videos are out of the question for me. [DarthJustice]
sorry, I don't have a text copy of Dr. Paul's statement, but he basicly said we are panicking too much and the department of homeland security and terrorist task force should not be the ones dealing with this [xfahctor]
Here in the UK the papers are full of it - front page news in most of them. I will be returning to the USA in 4 weeks - it is a big enough hassle going through security and I am wondering what this flu episode will have added to it by the time I get home. My husband is going to see th Dr. tomorrow about a routine thing - we are going to ask him if there are any pills that he can bring with him to the USA to stave off anything cnnected to this flu virus. I think at this point in time the best thing they can do for us is heavily monitor the borders with Mexico and keep Mexicans in there and US citizens out until this virus has petered out. [us2owls]
"best thing they can do for us is heavily monitor the borders with Mexico and keep Mexicans in there and US citizens out until this virus has petered out." Too late, the swine flu is already in the US - BUT it is really no reason to freak out! MOST people who get it will be FINE and not even know they have it! They'll think it's a cold and get over it in a few days to a week. REALLY! Same thing for the "Bird Flu" and SARS that caused panics in the past. ONE person has died from swine flu in the US, a 22 month old in Texas. Just like the regular flu, swine flu is only really dangerous to the very young, the very old, and people with compromised immune systems. Those people should have extra care taken to prevent ANY kind of illness anyway. To put it into perspective for you, 30,000 people died of the REGULAR flu last year. Nothing will really prevent you from getting any of these flus except good hygiene and common sense. But if you DO get it, you will likely be JUST FINE after a few days, by drinking fluids, resting, and taking OTC cold medicines. [AngryKittyMSV]
Well done X. I find it interesting that the government hypes the swine flu over the same weekend that Barak Obama and numerous other world leaders vote to donate mega trillions of dollars to the World Bank. America will be donating something like, what 13 trillion dollars? (I could be wrong here, but I do know its in the trillions) to the World Bank. I was watching the news and there was a short 3 min blurb about the vote, stressing how much it will help developing nations. Sounds peachy, huh? And also a breif mention of the rioters outside the World Bank who had to be subdued with pepper spray and police officers in riot gear... some were hospitolized. They mentioned it in passing as if it were a county fair. The anchorwoman said the protesters were mad because they felt the money being donated to the world bank actually hurts the poor in America. Oh really? Why do I feel as though we missed the bigger story this weekend? *scratches head* The rest of the news cast was dedicated to the swine flu. A good 45 mins if not more. After that, I stopped watching the news all weekend. [II2aTee]
This flu does seem to be a welcome distraction from other ongoing political business. People's focus shifted. Maybe that's why the government stresses it so much. Distraction, distraction, distraction;) [jonesy123]
I agree. Much is being made of nothing. Yes we should have homeland secuirty monitoring the border for it. But lest be honest....that is only going to stop the ones coming in legally. All the illegals coming in will not be monitored, so they could stil bring it in. None of the cases here have been deadly. Very mild infact. I am wondering if that is due to the better medical care or just to the fact that in America we are healthier and live more hygene lives. Cleaniness of person and house does count for something. I think common sense not panic is in order here. How would protect yourself from the common cold or the common flu? Wash your hands often, don't shake hands, eat healthy and get plenty of rest. Keep areas that are touched often clean and disenfected(door knobs, remotes, phones, keyboards etc.) [lilwonders456]
I believe that is the main reason why we aren't getting extremely sick with this Flu.. The US and many other countries are alot cleaner than Mexico.. Plus our doctors do give us medication if there is something wrong with us.. Medical attention is what we get but these people i don't believe got any and it just got worse and worse and they ended up dying because they weren't getting the things to make them better.. I am sure they had no idea what was even wrong with them. I feel bad for them but yet at the same time awful knowing they aren't getting the help they really need, Very heart breaking knowing these people could of been saved by a dose of medication! [wisconsin26]
I was 19 at the time and vaguely recall it between the thoughts of other teenage points of importance such as dating and hanging with my friends. Looking back, I have to wonder about what was going through my mother's head. My brother was one of the unfortunate victims of the bad polio vaccines and I'm sure that had to cross her mind during this time. Just a little extra precaution is all that's necessary. I've never gotten a flu shot, but I'm not so young anymore and I do have health concerns, so I might consider it. [irishidid]
is there a written topic on what Ron Paul said, i am hearing impaired so videos dont work for me. this is something new, as i have seen so much swine flu news these days... even here, they are putting a little panic in the minds of the people. but hospital people says they are ready if ever the swine flu reached here... which i hope will not. [jayrene]
The "news" is making a lot of noise over basically nothing. So far ONE person in the US has died from swine flu, a 22 month old in Texas. 30,000 people died last year from the REGULAR flu! The people at risk of serious complications from he swine flu are the same people at risk of serious complications from ANY flu - the very young, the very old and people with compromised immune systems - people who should be taking extra care anyway to try to avoid getting ANY illness in the first place! No reason to panic, no reason at all. Most folks who get the swine flu (or any flu - including bird flu and SARS) will be just fine after a few days and may not even know they have it, they'll just think it's a cold. [AngryKittyMSV]
Thanks for this post! I agree completely - I think that medical decisions should be left to those who have the medical knowledge to make those decisions! And I also believe the media is great at making mountains out of molehills. Look at the pit bull stories. They make all pit bulls sound like monsters. They, in fact, are far from it. It just makes for "good news." Disgusting. [cobra1368]
Well, you know, there is nothing better than a good crisis. It distracts people from other issues and allows for measures to be taken that otherwise would be scrutinized to death. I wonder what they are trying to slip through under the radar in the name of protecting us from the flu. As to the hype. Personally, I do pay more attention because I have little kids and when it comes to diseases it's important to know what exactly is going on. One of my kids seem to pick up any infection that's going around, so yes, I am on the lookout, hype or not. It may not be as deadly as it made out to be, but vomiting and diarrhea is never fun, especially, if it is severe. I had enough of that for this season anyway;) [jonesy123]
If the medical community were making the decisions, all travel would cease to Mexico until the flu burnt itself out. What on earth has this to do with the swine flu in the 1970's when only one person died from the flu. Already 100 people have died from this outbreak. There are no mass vaccinations planned. The strange think is, only Mexicans have died. I think if more white people were dying there might be more action. I already have seen a crazy that insists this is another conspiracy of an engineered virus from a government. thumbdown You obviously are not old enough to remember the 1918-1919 flu epidemic when millions died. I think if it was such a killer I hope you would not take such a caviler attitude. [mariposaman]
I do not see anyone volunteering to be the person who dies when they dismiss the regular flu outbreaks as being not serious because only a few thousand people die. If the people who say do not panic because it will only kill a few people would volunteer to be one of those people few I might listen to them. Yes I watched the video and there is nothing more there than I have heard on the radio and television. Global warming, yes, no. Mexican swine flu, yes, no. Vaccines cause autism, yes, no. There are orators on both sides. My point is that if Mexico reports 3000 cases and 150 dead reportedly mainly among the healthy adults then if it burned through the American population at that rate, the populations of USA is 3 million so that would mean 150,000 dead which is quite a feat, plus the economic devastation of millions sick. My point begs the question why is it so virulent in Mexico and benign in USA. Everyone can do all the finger pointing they want but I have heard not much credible evidence on what is going on. I realize that health care might be substandard in Mexico, but there are people with no medical coverage in USA too which is another topic. Flu does not kill healthy adults in these numbers. [mariposaman]
In a small way I can relate to the first part of your discussion here about the fiasco created first time round when the swine flu first came out in the 1970s. My mother, who worked in a bank at the time knew a customer, whose daughter got the vaccine...whatever the hell it did, it made the daughter a wheelchair bound cripple for the rest of her life...and just wondering if in general, if anyone sued when others had devastating effects and even death. I'm not all that big on vaccines to begin with and have done numerous studies of how many vaccines can trigger off more problems than help..including that vaccines for girls, Gardasil, where many young girls DID die from it either only a few hours of getting the vaccine to a few weeks after getting it Not that we shouldn't be aware of this new outbreak of swine flu, but honestly, I'm fed up with listening to it. If there suddenly were 100s upon 100s of outbreaks in EACH state then maybe we can be "concerned". Ron Paul, mentions there are far more cases of TB...some 13,000 last year alone and far many more deaths, and as he points out TB is a far more serious illness that strains of flu [pyewacket]
Thank you so much for posting this dicussion. You helped me understand things better and also it has calmed me down some. I have been watching the news non stop since this started. You have eased some of my fears. I am going to still keep an eye on things, but I won't be as stressed out. Thank You. [abigailsavan1976]
glad to help. I think we all should just take a step back and put this in to perspective, it is nothing more than a glorified cold, like every other flu. I feel the adminsitration is using it to look like they are trying to take charge of a "crisis". It's disgusting and shamefull, it is fear mongering to persuade us to accept policy and people we might not accept otherwise, Bush used the same tactics with terrorism to accept the patriot act and with the economy to accept T.A.R.P. [xfahctor]
Thanks Doc. I agree we are over reacting. Getting vacs in place is a good thing but; Don't strip ourselves befor it is needed. Especially when the vac could become useless when the virus mutates. [gypsywoman344]
"Especially when the vac could become useless when the virus mutates." EXCELLENT point! [AngryKittyMSV]
Ron Paul makes all the sense in the world. Now that you mention it...I do remember this panic back in the 70's but I was real young and really didn't buy into it back then ....in fact...I thought this was a familiar flu but I had actually forgot about all the panic surrounding it. I think the difference between now and then is that the media is more prone to hype and people buy into it. I have fox on as I type this and it is unbelievable. it is clear to see where the hype comes from. I don't know...maybe it is my age but to me the "flu" has always just meant being sick for a couple of days and then back to normal. [sid556]
If you have a decent immune system, that's ALL it will be, sick for a few days and then fine. That's all it will be for swine flu, bird flu, even the much hyped and over-reacted to SARS! Just like the regular flu, it is only REALLY dangerous if you have a compromised immune system. MOST people will be FINE and not even know they had it! [AngryKittyMSV]
Yes,swin flu is only a kind of influenza but it spreads rapidly,by cough,sneezes with air,flying saliva.So it is more seriously than common flu.Moreover,it leads person to death rapidly,but not common flu. So I don't agree with you.It is similar to SARs four years before.I am afraid everybody should pay attention to it and protect himself charinessly. [susiehappy]
Of course, you should excercise caution, the same cauthion with any other flu, but we should keep it in prespective, despite the fancy name and all the media and government hype, it is just that a flu. I'm not saying don't be cautious, we just should not over react and that is exactly what we and our government are doing way over reacting. [xfahctor]
I guess people are just being really paranoid about this type of flu because of the headlines. I think what made people more paranoid was the news that swine flu have killed hundreds already in Mexico. When you hear of death caused by some disease, of course, people will feel really worried and cautious, sometimes bordering on paranoia. But I have to agree with you; I don't think swine flu is really serious, especially if you know how to take good care of yourself. Also, to relay some fears, I heard in the news that some people who are affected with swine flu are already recovering. [zzyw87]
I would love to listen to the video when I have more time, but if it is commom sense that he is using, then I am all for his advice.When everybody is in panic mode, I think it is best to have someone, a leader who still has all his senses intact to make some sense to all these crazy happenings now. Like the economic crisis had all hit us really bad, and now, having this flu ouybreak is enough to snap us out of our last thread of reason. We'll all go crazy figuring out how and where to get the next food to put on the table, and what do we get instead? Surprise! Not ham, not bacon, not meat, not bread, but swine flu that kills. What is this? [veganprince]
i think we just have to take the regular precautions we take with any other flu/virus outbreaks. wash hands frequently, sneeze and cough into the crook of the arm instead of the hands, and stay away from people who are obviously sick. panic does not help anyone or anything. common sense should prevail. [mikeysmom]
I appreciate your post. Although, I must say this has definately killed more than one person this time around. That to me says that it is a deadlier disease than before. I would've thought that if this came around in the 70's and went over with no major issues, that we would have a good vaccine now, 30 years later. I also feel that considering it has been 30 years or so since the incident before, I would hope that our medical research has improved. Heck, for that matter no one should of even been sick this time around. With advances in medicine, if this was not a big issue in the 70's, then why is it killing people today? Have we not surpassed the intellect of this virus? Did it mutate. I would have to believe it did because, why would it be affecting us so much more harshly now than it did then? So no, with all due respect, I don not think anyone is overreacting. If nothing else, perhaps they are not doing enough. [keithmharris2005]
Ah, yes, but you are not taking into account that the US is not the only Country in the world. What if this thing spreads to third world countries? We have a vaccine for the regular flu. This is a mutant strain. No vaccine. Now take the regular flu that killed what 30,000 people last year. Combine that with not having a vaccine at all. What would be the change? That is the difference. How many will die in the 4 or 5 months it takes to develop a vaccine? [keithmharris2005]
This is really an issue for the CDC and the department of health, nothing more. They should have ALWAYS paid attention to the damned borders to stem the flow of illegal immigrants becasue they are ILLEGAL, they should be watching the border regardless of whether or not there is a flu going around! The swine flu is ALREADY here, so any increase in border patrol is really closing the gate after the horses are running loose already. The panic over this is really stupid, just like it was when they panicked over the bird flu and when they panicked over SARS. If you get it, you may not even know you have it! You'll be sick for a few days as you would with the regular flu or a COLD and you will get better - NO BIG DEAL! The only people at risk for getting seriously ill and dying are the SAME people who are at risk of getting seriously ill and dying from the REGULAR flu: the very old, the very young, and people with compromised immune systems - people who should ALWAYS be careful in trying to avoid catching these sorts of things anyway! SO far, ONE person in the US has died form swine flu, a 22 month old in Texas - this child probably would have died from the regular flu as well. The regular flu killed 30,000 people last year, kind of puts things into perspective doesn't it? [AngryKittyMSV]
I need to correct myself, towards the end I meant to say adults, not humans. [TRWilliams02]
Thanks for the info. I can't watch youtube, but I appreciate what you've posted here. [miamilady]
Read Michael Crichton's book, "State of Fear." While the story is about "Global Warming" as a state of fear, as was the Cold War between the USSR and the USA, his story reveals that states of fear has become (THE Standard for population control by big gov. is creating States of Fear, said a minor elderly scholar to the reluctant hero in the middle of the book. A old "character" like me.) State of fear is a good read. Y'all are correct that the pig and bird flus are distracting us. There is a BIG reason for this... Anyone out there know the name of biggest pandemic in human history? that has been running for decades, and is not news? What do you think? Steve Slaton [SteveSlaton]