Do you think all the talking/publicity/media frenzy about the swine flu has made the situation worse or better?
(Just a reminder, please be respectful of other opinions. I am aware, as you all are, that this is a sensitive topic.)
10 months ago
8 comments:
Well I think that it has raised peoples' awareness of their personal hygiene. (i.e. hand washing, sneezing into the elbow), and most importantly helping people remember that it's okay to stay home if you have certain symptoms so as not to spread. Everything of course should be done in moderation, including our reaction to things, to avoid creating a frenzy. Awareness is ALWAYS good.
Better and worse? I agree with J.R. and Michelle that awareness is always good and getting people to be more vigilant about hand washing and sneezing into your elbow is a plus for sure even without swine flu!
But, the media does whip people (myself included) into a unnecessary frenzy sometimes and then it makes it so hard to know the true level of the threat at hand. Not to mention that there is so much confusing information out there. So, better and worse.
I have to agree as well with the awareness issue. although I think it has made me more paranoid! Ask my husband! If it wasn't talked about ALL the time, I don't know that I would worry about it quite so much. And then they advertise every single death in the area and that just freaks me out even more! So for me I think it has made it worse. :)
This is a great question Shamae and I am so glad that you posed it. First off I have to say that I come from a public health background and worked with infectious diseases. I also handled pandemic flu planning for 3 years during the time everyone was afraid of bird flu.So I have maybe a little different take, in so much as I have been encouraging groups for years, to get ready and get plans together. Which the hospitals, counties and states have done. Schools were much more difficult and wanted to just not worry about it.
It is a serious illness for about 1% of the population, but numbers do not matter if it your child or loved one that dies. SO yes there is real fear when you look at the number of deaths already, especially for children, that are almost double what they are for a normal flu season. However, following some basic common sense principles can help protect a lot of people.
The media has picked things to focus on and I think that has raised the level of hysteria slightly. The one good thing that has come out of this is that people are working on proper hygiene, which is positive and parents are being reminded that if you children have a few you do not just load them with Tylenol and send them to school or day care anyway. This also applies to church, if your sick you need to stay home.
The other thing I have noticed at least here on the East Coast is that people are actually talking about preparing "food storage". I have always taken it for granted that, this something you just do. But apparently not here.
For instance Kaylee is teething and I was running low on pain medication for her so I went to the store. The shelves were almost bare of all kinds of cold and flu medicines and there was a sign that said not re-stocking until next week.
Now for a question for you Shamae and those other parents on your blog with children who have diabetes since they considered high risk, just like Miss Avery....are you getting the H1N1 shot?? and are you doing anything different at your home??
wow what a heated ? you asked this can spark alot of debate . I will just say awareness is a good thing .
I love the pics!! They turned out so stinkn' good!!
I think you know how I feel about the news...if they could just educate without causing their intended hysteria I would be more open to hear what they have to say. It absolutely goes both ways...they intentionally cause chaos...and they reliably get the word out. It's what the news has become. If everyone could watch the news understanding that they sensationalize everything they report on, then everyone would be ok.
I'm with Cylista! PARANOID! Awareness has been good....but I am positive every time I hear my child cough of sneeze that they are going to kill over from swine flu! But, I'm a paranoid person to begin with! :) Maybe I shouldn't watch the news every single day!
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