Swine Flu – Overreaction?
This evening while sitting in a comfy armchair pleasantly enjoying a light book I couldn’t help but overhear the local evening news. Swine Flu (cue apocalyptic music). I couldn’t believe it. Not only did they have to report on every latest update but the coverage lasted almost the entire program. We have a serious media problem in this county in that there seems to be the need to sensationalize everything. Lets face the facts. According to estimates from the Center for Disease Control 36,000 people die each year from just your plain old influenza.
That number again: 36,000
Why is it that although we have only seen one single death in the US from this newly reported strain of Swine Flu, we feel the need to waste whole entire broadcasts about it. Even some of the language and material they show would lead the average citizen to think that the situation is much worse than it really is. It is almost like they want to scare us.
My message to my state news: tell us the realistic truth about the situation and then move on with the rest of the news and quit sensationalizing everything, we have enough of that already in the movies.
I cannot agree with you more! It has gotten so ridiculous! I too have blogged on the same subject today when I was called two days in a row from the school nurse to come pick my child up because she had a cold! The nurse wonts to take precautions and make sure it doesnt turn to “THE SWINE” as she put it. uugggg!!!
The swine flu thing is getting out of control, EVERYONE is talking about it. I should be careful not to sneeze in public, since I don’t want anyone throwing stones at me, thinking I got swine flu.
Do you remember that couple of years ago there was a chicken flu sort of thing going on? No one remembers it now.
Ouch! 36,000 is huge number for a conventional flu.
I’m sure that with all this warnings about the swine flu, a bunch of people will get some psychological swine flu.
You know… here in brazil, we don’t take things seriously. Sometimes it’s a bad thing, but sometimes not.
I mean… Nikola said that if he sneeze in public, people will be mad with him, right? Here, if take an elevator and sneeze with people inside, I could say “Man, this swine flu is killing me”, that i bet they would laugh about it.
;D
Tiago – I don’t think we are all that serious but the problem is the media. The scare people and don’t tell them the truth about the seriousness of matters. They make people overly afraid.
I wouldn’t be happy if someone sneezed directly in my face on purpose but I would definitely laugh at the elevator joke
OMG!!! I think I just caught swine flu from reading this article!!!!