Swine Flu Health Emergency - Will it affect your behavior?

[haha]

Very interesting Meadbh; thank you.

 

[HFWR]

Well, we did get the h@ll out of Texas!

Audrey

Au contraire; there's still plenty of hell left in Texas...

 

[freebird5825]

Au contraire; there's still plenty of hell left in Texas...

So glad you said that...
I was going to, but my zip code wisely held me back.
Catapult launched rotten tomatoes have a longer range these days, I'm told.

Redemption clause: I've been to TX a few times and enjoyed the journey every time.

 

[FinanceDude]

So glad you said that...
I was going to, but my zip code wisely held me back.
Catapult launched rotten tomatoes have a longer range these days, I'm told.

Redemption clause: I've been to TX a few times and enjoyed the journey every time.

I've never been there, cuz: "All my exes live in Texas"........

 

[FinanceDude]

BBC NEWS | Health | How to make a swine flu vaccine

Experimental swine flu vaccine expected in weeks

I for one have taken comfort in the fact that you, Moemg and Rich in Tampa haven't freaked out about this swine flu thing. I trust that if things really get bad, you three will let us know, I trust you guys.......

 

[Dawg52]

I for one have taken comfort in the fact that you, Moemg and Rich in Tampa haven't freaked out about this swine flu thing. I trust that if things really get bad, you three will let us know, I trust you guys.......

I'm going to my niece's graduation from college tomorrow. She just got back from Cancun 2 weeks ago so I'm going to wear a surgical mask. I'm sure that will make her proud of her uncle.

 

[Meadbh]

I for one have taken comfort in the fact that you, Moemg and Rich in Tampa haven't freaked out about this swine flu thing. I trust that if things really get bad, you three will let us know, I trust you guys.......

Thanks FD!

My healthcare organization has been issuing daily bulletins and advice and all resources related to the outbreak are easily accessible online. There is even an influenza dashboard with realtime information. Pandemic planning has been ongoing since SARS and we are probably better prepared for a pandemic than at any time in history. As of today, the level of readiness is being stepped down, to be reactivated at any time there is an uptick in the numbers or other red flags. Just like investors, we have become active rather than passive managers.

I for one do not think the WHO has been alarmist (other than panicking about pork, which appears to be perfectly safe unless you eat pigs who have died of natural causes). This is a serious matter. If it is under control now, it's not by accident, but because of all the monitoring and intervention that has, and is, being done. For example, in China, if H1N1 gets in and combines with the H1N5 avian virus already there, it would be a very dangerous virus. That's why China quarantined a bunch of Canadian students. It made perfect sense to do so.

 

[Meadbh]

I'm going to my niece's graduation from college tomorrow. She just got back from Cancun 2 weeks ago so I'm going to wear a surgical mask. I'm sure that will make her proud of her uncle.

But how will you take your meds with the mask on?

 

[audreyh1]

Darn it! 5 cases showed up in Arkansas, 4 in the county where we are camped right now! Serves us right for spending some time near the biggest city, but we really needed a Whole Foods Market fix - last visit was in Jan. Doing some shopping accompanied by lots of hand cleaning, and then we'll be heading into more remote areas in a few days.

Oh - wait! Those 4 cases are from out-of-state airmen training at a nearby army base. Maybe a wee bit more contained than one might expect under normal circumstances.

Audrey

 

[Zathras]

Same thing I do to protect myself from the 'average flu'. Get my shots, wash my hands more often.

 

[freebird5825]

Minimizing my contact with general public (we have 3 prisons and their associated family members in residence and several colleges), not touching public surfaces (doors, faucet handles) directly, washing hands, distancing myself from coughing people, etc.
The cruise ship I was just on in July had some crew members and passengers in isolation. We both caught a bad head cold, but never had fever or intense body aches. We used the sanitizer dispensers religiously.
I checked the CDC site while on board to make sure about our symptoms. We passed 2 "going ashore" thermal scans done by ship's medical staff with no problem.
I checked in with my doc when I returned home and got instructions to monitor symptoms and got the usual rest, fluids, stay home advice.
We got better within a week. Whew!

 

[grumpy]

Unless the swine flu virus mutates into a more virulent form, it is my understanding that, for most healthy folks, its no worse than the usual seasonal flu. What is wrong with a strategy of just trying to stay in good health, be sick for a week if you get it, and then you have immunity unless and until it mutates significantly?

I know from experience that having the flu is no fun. Last time I got it even though I always get the flu shot. But I am not losing any sleep over the swine flu as it is currently being described.

 

[Sue J]

I'll get an H1N1 flu shot if they are available. I'll be doing tax prep Jan-Apr and we share desks, computer keyboards, phones, pens, etc with a lot of people. Then there are the clients, their kids (and all the people they have been exposed to) who will come in and touch all our stuff. Last year I tried to wash my hands between clients and I tried not to touch my face.

At my grocery store they have a Clorox wipes dispenser right next to where you pick up a shopping cart. I'm not sure how much good it does, but I feel better if I can wipe off the cart handles.

 

[freebird5825]

CDC, as always, has good easy-to-read summaries
CDC - Influenza (Flu) | Preventing the Flu

No need to go the Howard Hughes route, but a little extra care in regard to normal disease transmission routes (see #2 at the link) will be well worth your trouble.

 

[TromboneAl]

If the media can time their swine flu fear stories just right, there will be a big panic about flu shots when the H1N1 vaccine comes out, but there isn't enough for everyone.

 

[Moemg]

Unless the swine flu virus mutates into a more virulent form, it is my understanding that, for most healthy folks, its no worse than the usual seasonal flu. What is wrong with a strategy of just trying to stay in good health, be sick for a week if you get it, and then you have immunity unless and until it mutates significantly?

I know from experience that having the flu is no fun. Last time I got it even though I always get the flu shot. But I am not losing any sleep over the swine flu as it is currently being described.

Normally I would agree with you but two and a half years ago I went on a cruise and got the virsus from h---. I was in bed for twelve days . I literally could not get out of bed I was so sick . I eventually recovered but it left me with my asthma in flareup and so weak I could hardly walk .So I have gained a healthy respect for flu"s . If there is anyway I can get the vaccine I'm getting it .

 

[Khan]

If the media can time their swine flu fear stories just right, there will be a big panic about flu shots when the H1N1 vaccine comes out, but there isn't enough for everyone.

But then there's the offset by the **** anti-vaccine folks telling us it's all a plot to kill people.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Normally I would agree with you but two and a half years ago I went on a cruise and got the virsus from h---. I was in bed for twelve days . I literally could not get out of bed I was so sick . I eventually recovered but it left me with my asthma in flareup and so weak I could hardly walk .So I have gained a healthy respect for flu"s . If there is anyway I can get the vaccine I'm getting it .

Was in Vegas years ago. Caught something really bad. Never before in my life was I so sick. Find out weeks later there was something going around. Yeah Im all for those flu shots now My sister inlaw got it after they got home. Crazy stuff.

DW says the vaccine for them will be ready in October (RN). I wont be getting it I guess.

 

[M Paquette]

But then there's the offset by the **** anti-vaccine folks telling us it's all a plot to kill people.

I'm counting on them...

"Think of it as evolution in action."
- Oath of Fealty, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

 

[REWahoo]

You left out the part about 'several ounces of gold and 1,000 rounds of ammunition'.

 

[W2R]

At work, we get free yearly flu shots courtesy of your tax dollars. I get one every year, since they seem to give my immunity a little boost and since suffering through influenze is not my idea of fun. Since I am retiring on November 9th, my prediction is that we will be offered our yearly free flu shots about a week afterwards.

That's OK. I predict that one of the HUGE advantages to ER is that I won't be exposed to miserable coughing, sneezing, and feverish co-workers in tight quarters on a daily basis. I may be less likely to contract contagious diseases at home than at work.

 

[Gotadimple]

WTR,
Does the FEHP cover annual flu shots without copay or deductible?

My health plan (not FEHP) covers it under the prescription drug benefit, if administered by a pharmacist - no co-pay or deductible. If administered by your physician, all the co-pay rules apply.

-- Rita

 

[W2R]

Gotadimple, we have a part time nurse on site, who administers the flu shots. We get a broadcast e-mail telling us when to appear (right there in our building), by the first letter of our last names. While waiting in line, we fill out a short form with information such as allergies and medications. No doctor visit, no co-pay, no insurance involvement, not a dime out of pocket.

I guess it is one of many advantages of being a federal employee. Also, in years when a shortage of flu shots is expected, we seem to get them very shortly after the first responders even when most civilians are still having a hard time getting a flu shot.

 

[samclem]

I guess it is one of many advantages of being a federal employee. Also, in years when a shortage of flu shots is expected, we seem to get them very shortly after the first responders even when most civilians are still having a hard time getting a flu shot.

The flu shots were (are still?) mandatory for military personnel. The official reason is to maintain readiness and to reduce the odds that a large chunk of a unit will get sick with the flu at the same time. But there's also another angle: DoD provides a ready, reliable customer for millions of doses of the vaccine, even when the stuff is in low demand. The DoD immunization program helps fund the vaccine development infrastructure and reduces the cost of all the shots for everyone else (since the fixed costs of developing the vaccine are spread over more doses). In this way DoD money indirectly subsidizes the medical costs of others in the US and worldwide--especially the elderly.

 

[freebird5825]

At work, we get free yearly flu shots courtesy of your tax dollars. I get one every year, since they seem to give my immunity a little boost and since suffering through influenze is not my idea of fun. Since I am retiring on November 9th, my prediction is that we will be offered our yearly free flu shots about a week afterwards.

That's OK. I predict that one of the HUGE advantages to ER is that I won't be exposed to miserable coughing, sneezing, and feverish co-workers in tight quarters on a daily basis. I may be less likely to contract contagious diseases at home than at work.

Interesting...this was never offered to us. There were Flu Clinics set up by an independent health company in close proximity to but not inside the buildings. We were given a little time mid-morning or mid-day to go get them. The payment had to be done via our FEHB health plan choice.