That'll do, swine. That'll do.
The opinions expressed in this column represent the author's - not the Ledger's. Got an opinion? Let us hear it:
Gerard LeConte
Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Opinion
What is your biggest fear? Are you afraid of the dark? The boogie man? How about swine flu?
Lately, it has seemed like the media has done everything they can to put swine flu at the top of the list. Every day we see more and more reports on how terrifying swine flu is by throwing around words like "epidemic" and making every new case of swine flu front page news. When it comes down to it, how worried should we actually be?
It turns out that this is not the first time America has seen swine flu. Although you would never know it from news coverage, swine flu granted us a visit in 1976. The government and media went haywire for a year or two, and then it just sort of went away. What happened was very similar to what is going on right now. After awhile, no one cared.
When all is said and done, the fact is that swine flu is just about as harmful as seasonal influenza. People experience the same symptoms and go about getting better in the same ways. In no way am I suggesting that people stop taking precautions.
The young and the elderly are still at risk if they catch any kind of flu. You should still wash your hands and refrain from coughing in other people's faces, but it is time to stop all the scare tactics.
Lately, it has seemed like the media has done everything they can to put swine flu at the top of the list. Every day we see more and more reports on how terrifying swine flu is by throwing around words like "epidemic" and making every new case of swine flu front page news. When it comes down to it, how worried should we actually be?
It turns out that this is not the first time America has seen swine flu. Although you would never know it from news coverage, swine flu granted us a visit in 1976. The government and media went haywire for a year or two, and then it just sort of went away. What happened was very similar to what is going on right now. After awhile, no one cared.
When all is said and done, the fact is that swine flu is just about as harmful as seasonal influenza. People experience the same symptoms and go about getting better in the same ways. In no way am I suggesting that people stop taking precautions.
The young and the elderly are still at risk if they catch any kind of flu. You should still wash your hands and refrain from coughing in other people's faces, but it is time to stop all the scare tactics.
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