Left In Lowell

Right, It Was All Just Hype

3 Responses to “Right, It Was All Just Hype”

1. M.L. Says:
   November 28th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

   More fear-mongering from LiL about Swine Flu.

   Two highlights from one of the articles you cite:

   “There was no reason to believe the mutation had any implication for the effectiveness of flu vaccines or antiviral drugs made by groups such as Roche (ROG.VX), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Novartis (NOVN.VX) and AstraZeneca (AZN.L), the authorities said.”

   And…

   “Although further investigation is under way, no evidence currently suggests that these mutations are leading to an unusual increase in the number of H1N1 infections or a greater number of severe or fatal cases,” the WHO said in a statement.”

   So it’s mutating “with devastating results”? How? Your own source indicates there is no evidence for this statement.

2. Lynne Says:
   November 30th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

   So talking about it now, is fear mongering?

   It’s devastating in that getting it, it’s a more serious illness, yes. That was also stated in the article or did you choose to ignore that? This was EXACTly what biologists were concerned about. The mutation may, or may not, be just beginning. There’s nothing to say that it won’t go beyond the effectiveness of the vaccine, and certainly, there is NOT and will NOT be enough vaccine for everyone anyway, it grows too slow. So either way, it’s bad news if this strain or other mutated strains gets a foothold. This is what happened in 1918.

   So you can downplay it all you want, but I think it’s responsible for people to talk about the damn issue and be prepared.

3. M.L. Says:
   November 30th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

   I ignored nothing.

   Tell me, how do you reconcile your statement, “It’s [the mutated swine flu strain] devastating in that getting it, it’s a more serious illness, yes” with the World Health Organization’s, “no evidence currently suggests that these mutations are leading to an unusual increase in the number of H1N1 infections or a greater number of severe or fatal cases,”?

   The article states, “Says disease’s mutation COULD cause more serious illness,” a potentiality that remains to be seen. Given the available data, there’s nothing here to warrant a panic beyond what we’ve already experienced, which is totally overblown. It’s good that scientists have noticed the mutated strain, but it’s not going to do anyone any good having a layperson speculate about the potential “devastating effects” of the mutation.

   You say people should be prepared? I agree, but as I’ve said and as has been shown, H1N1 is no worse than seasonal flu in severity and is only marginally more contagious. So the preventative measures one takes against getting H1N1 should be the same as with regular flu. Wash your hands. Cough/sneeze into your arm. Take vitamins. Get a flu shot if you want. Beyond this, there’s not much else to be done about it.

   I don’t have a problem with swine flu getting SOME attention in the media. But it’s been taken to an outrageous level, and I think it’s actually done more harm than good. People are showing up at ERs with “symptoms” and oftentimes don’t even have H1N1. And even if they did, only rarely does the illness require a trip to the ER.

   And yes, you’re fear-mongering by using the words you use. Sarcastically saying, “It was all just hype,” and using the phrase “devastating results,” as if to imply that what’s going on has exacerbated the situation when in fact nothing of the sort has happened.

   I can’t wait for next year to see which disease you and the mainstream media will be hyping. I’m the nostalgic-type, so hopefully it will be something like West Nile Virus, or E.E.E., or SARS, or Avian Bird Flu, or Mad Cow. I think I’ll start taking bets.

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