Friday, May 1, 2009
Snoutbreak Re: Another Suspected Swine Flu Case Found In King County
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, May 1, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Is it just me or... does it seem silly to close schools one at a time after a confirmed case of swine flu is found? If the threat is serious enough to close schools after a single case of swing flu is discovered, wouldn't it make more sense to close the schools—all of them, all at once—before another student population is exposed?
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1
You're only saying that because you get to do your "oops, I'm a journalist" thing and run off for some Rancho Bravo for some "reporting" instead of kidsitting, right?
2
If you close every school across the board, it makes a hardship for all parents, instead of taking it on a school-by-school basis - especially since this seems to be a fairly mild strain.
3
The swing flu makes kids break out in spontaneous lindyhopping and jitterbugging, I take it. We can't allow that to happen.
4
Basically, there's no way of closing down all the institutions in which people interact on a daily basis. So there's really no surefire way of stopping the spread. But no one wants to be accused of not doing anything / not taking the situation seriously / not doing enough!
6
Meanwhile, in the real world, all the cruise ships that were going to Mexico are now coming to Seattle.
Net gain: Seattle.
Net gain: Seattle.
8
Yeah Dan -- you're a real health policy genius. Why don't you just stay over there in your little gay issues corner and leave the big boy topics to people who know what the fuck they are talking about?
10
Not really, considering you can only get it from someone within 6 feet tops we should only evacuate schools within 6 feet of the infected schools. Considering how rare this has been it would seem counter productive to close them all at a time when kids should be learning and this shit if their classmates aren't sick. Plus shutting down every single school = panic
11
It makes no sense to close the schools since this flu is NOT worse than any run-of-the-mill flu:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_o…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_o…
12
Some thoughts on this new flu outbreak, but first, some facts:
a) it's mild, at least so far. Most people who get it only get mildly sick for about a week.
b) there's no immunizations for it yet. May not be for many months.
c) it may yet turn deadly. The 1918 "Spanish" flu struck in two waves. The first not too awful, the second, dreadful.
d) if you catch it now, you'll be immune to getting it again.
So, like, why not run out and try to catch it now? If you're in reasonably decent health to start with, you can immunize yourself at the cost of only a mild illness.
a) it's mild, at least so far. Most people who get it only get mildly sick for about a week.
b) there's no immunizations for it yet. May not be for many months.
c) it may yet turn deadly. The 1918 "Spanish" flu struck in two waves. The first not too awful, the second, dreadful.
d) if you catch it now, you'll be immune to getting it again.
So, like, why not run out and try to catch it now? If you're in reasonably decent health to start with, you can immunize yourself at the cost of only a mild illness.
13
Why aren't schools barred from feeding children animal corpses now? Even if this pig flu isn't terribly deadly, many of today's children will die in future pig and bird flu epidemics unless we stop indoctrinating them to consume animal carcasses.
Putting sausage on school lunch pizza today = heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancers, obesity, salmonella, e.coli, pig flu, bird flu, global warming, destroyed ecosystems tomorrow.
Putting sausage on school lunch pizza today = heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancers, obesity, salmonella, e.coli, pig flu, bird flu, global warming, destroyed ecosystems tomorrow.
14
@13 Healthy food in schools, including, possibly vegetarianism = admirable goal; sensationalist "omg dead things!" rhetoric = oh shut the f up already.
18
I'm just about to sit down to a delicious steak, with some mashed potatoes with sausage, and a green salad with shredded beef. I can't wait!
19
Oh my god, all of those little children must be ZOMBIES! now that they have feasted upon corpses.
20
We were considering skipping the huge swingers' party tonight, what with increased risk of exposure to swine flu... But the booty is worth the risk.
21
Nothing like Dan Savage applying that stellar piercing logic of his to, yet again, another important social problem. This time public health! You go Dan your powers of intellect are quite simply stunning.
22
Dan,
There are a number of ways to find out why. Try King Co Public health. Center for Disease control. etc. I found the rationale by accident yesterday cruising my regular blogs, like this one, and it made sense to me.
Why are you remaining willfully ignorant when you have the research powers of a newspaper at your editorial disposal?
There are a number of ways to find out why. Try King Co Public health. Center for Disease control. etc. I found the rationale by accident yesterday cruising my regular blogs, like this one, and it made sense to me.
Why are you remaining willfully ignorant when you have the research powers of a newspaper at your editorial disposal?
23
Wouldn't it make even MORE sense if state and federal agencies stopped cutting public health funding and resumed stockpiling Tamiflu and other medications to prevent and treat contagious diseases?
25
@ Dan: Shutting down the schools would be a major overreaction. There are only a few cases in the Seattle area and the infection is no worse than normal seasonal flu. Stopping a few cases isn't worth keeping tens of thousands of kids out of school and tens of thousands of parents out of work.
@13: You're begging for a soy flu pandemic.
@13: You're begging for a soy flu pandemic.
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