Saturday, October 24, 2009

Holloween+Swine Flu= ?





Like someone previously posted, Obama declared the swine flue a national emergency. He is moving emergency rooms offsite in order to "speed treatment and protect non-infected patients". Today, he wrote in his declaration, "As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic."

I thought this cartoon was relevant because the flu has been stressed on many degrees-from Obama's declaration to seeing hand sanitizer bottles in schools and such.

9 comments:

PH(OE)BE said...

In English class a few days ago, I wiped the doorknob using Clorox disinfectant towels that Mr. Thurtle keeps near his desk. (Yeah I'm lame.)
Swine flu is every where...It seems like every where I turn someone is talking about it.

Sam Kennedy said...

You know, I sorely regret making snide jokes about swine flu a few months ago. I also regret that making those jokes is now inappropriate; it really has become a danger.

sabina hussain said...

This is so true! Swine flu is going crazy right now and this is something that is going to be affecting alot of people this haloween! Children may be concerned with candy but parents do have another issue on their hands!

ArianaR said...

Yeah, Swine Flu is scary, but is it really as scary as we think it is? I mean nearly 5000 people have died from Swine Flu since it was uncovered in April, and don't get me wrong that is a huge number, but in comparison to the annual flu that kills OVER a few hundred thousand people worldwide, I feel that either Swine Flu is getting too much hype or the flu is getting too little. I also understand that the symptoms are the same as the flu. Maybe it's getting so much hype because it's new...I don't know. I do know that I am more concerned about hygiene and sanitation and that everyone else is too, which is most definitely a good thing. I'm just confused why the flu hasn't received the same amount of hype as Swine Flu...does anyone want to explain?

Serena said...

I agree. Swine flu is spreading and it seems that that is all we talk about nowadays.As seen in the cartoon, it seems that it is also saying that by using our prevention methods, we can only get so far.

Yoda Yee said...

I completely agree with Ariana. Although Swine Flu is an emerging pandemic, I think the media is over doing it. There are vaccinations already made for the Swine Flu, but how about the bigger pandemics? AIDS has taken over worldwide. We have not found any cure for this besides pills that MIGHT delay death. To add on, none of the neurological diseases have complete cure for it. Look at Spinal Cerebellar Degeneration (SCD), also known as Spinal Cerebellar Ataxia (SCA). There is NO cure for this DEADLY disease. If you want to read up on this disease, there are countless websites. To sum it up, SCA slowly degenerates your motor skills until you cannot move anymore. By then, your motor cortex has become so small that you just pass away.

Woops, sorry for the digression in the end about SCA, but I have this profound love for neurological science and I felt that some information should be disseminated.

Rebecca K. said...

I also agree with Ariana. I believe that our society has made this a very publicized issue, maybe more than it has to. Also apparently the swine flu shots should have had millions more made by this time, leaving me very confused about the entire situation. It would seem that if it is a national emergency there should be a better devised plan in creating more flu shots. With this apparent shortage, it seems like the most practical way to prevent catching it is by simply washing your hands and leaving the shots for the elderly or the very young.

Hen to the Ry said...

I think that the US and the world are just afraid and interested by new things. I think we all got used to the old flu, since it has been around so long. Also, we don't really hear of anyone dying from the flu in the US or any other developed countries. Remember anthrax and SARS? They were both publicized greatly (although I can see how SARS is a little more fatal than the flu), but I still think that people are just drawn to new developments.

-Henry Zhang

Alexandra Kor said...

Love the picture, Mona.

It's a great illustration because of the overuse of hand sanitizer. Even hand sanitizer isn't the best solution to prevent swine flu.