babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
They Say: Swine Flu May Kill 90,000 Americans
School is about to start. Kids will be not only be bringing home school yard gossip and homework but they’ll be bringing home germs, and lots of them. The featured virus this year – the swine flu. Recent polls are reflecting that Americans in general aren’t too concerned about the N1H1 virus and have become complacent, but the new reports predicting that almost 100,000 people will die this season will reinstall some good old fashioned fear.
The CDC is saying that up to 40% of the US population could develop the swine flu, that two million Americans could be hospitalized with about 300,000 landing in intensive care and that about 90,000 – mostly young adults and children – could die from swine flu. Yeah, the fear is back.
Hospitals will be overwhelmed with people with the swine flu. A regular flu claims about 35,000 during it’s season and mostly the elderly. But the N1H1 not only could kill almost 100,000 people but it’s victims may be a large number middle aged adults, adolescents and children.
The Today show’s Ann Curry asked Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, why we don’t just close the schools until the threat has subsided. She said that “shutting a school down preemptively doesn’t really stop the virus from spreading. There may be a time if the virus spreads enough in one school setting in a district that the local superintendent decides that it’s appropriate to shut the school down…”
If you have a child with an underlying condition such as asthma or a neuromuscular disease she advised to begin to talk to your doctor how to get anti viral medications and to be prepared if your child has flu like symptoms. And if you are pregnant, she suggested talking to your OBGYN right now about preparing to get a vaccination once it’s ready.
Hopefully the predictions have been blown out of proportion. “This isn’t the flu that we are used to,” stated Kathleen Sebelius. “We won’t know until we are in the middle of the flu season how serious the threat will be.”
Are you worried about the swine flu or have you become complacent?
Source:
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
[...] They Say: Swine Flu May Kill 90000 Americans | Strollerderby [...]
They Say: Swine Flu May Kill 90000 Americans | Strollerderby | Swine Flu Blog on Updates Outbreaks and Cure commented on Aug 25 09 at 2:10 pm[...] flu fear is back! You missed it didn’t you? The CDC released a report this week saying that N1H1 could claim almost 100,000 American lives, many of which will be children, this upcoming flu season. With kids going back to the germ [...]
Checklist: 5 Back-to-School Swine Flu Survival Tips | Strollerderby commented on Aug 25 09 at 2:30 pmGJ commented on Aug 25 09 at 11:41 amI would make sure that you are informed well before you take any swine flu vaccine.
Interesting info at this site:
http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?q=swine flu&k=swine flu
patricia commented on Aug 25 09 at 1:56 pmI saw my 3 year old’s pediatrician yesterday, at which appointment my kid received the seasonal flu vaccine. I asked about swine flu, and the doctor said they had seen a ton of it this summer in her practice and that it hasn’t been that bad. That was a reassuring perspective for me.
Robyn commented on Aug 26 09 at 12:30 amEveryone freaks out over germs these days. Remember the avian flu that was supposed to be so awful for America? And I’m certainly not going to subject myself or my child to a completely untested vaccine.
Laure68 commented on Aug 26 09 at 9:24 pmRobyn, you have to make the choice you feel comfortable with, but this vaccine will be tested, just like the seasonal flu vaccine gets tested. This is why it is not yet available. ugh
Where do these ideas come from?
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0