It is hunting season in Utah which for our family means family and fun. This year everything is being thrown off course by the H1N1 flu. Yesterday, my nephew tested positive. So now he along with all of his siblings along with two cousins are quarantined at my sister-in-law’s house. My first reaction was I am not going. Bill is already there. After some thought, I am going up there tomorrow. We will be staying a motel. We may quarantine ourselves in the motel until Saturday which is the real reason I am going up there. My niece is being blessed that day. She is a miracle baby and plus I haven’t seen her yet. I know we will be okay. I did call everywhere to see where the vaccine was available, but it’s not in New Mexico yet. The Air Force clinic where we get our care won’t have the vaccine until November. Which makes me wonder if the government really knows what is going on. Of course, the answer is no. The CDC is warning everyone to get the vaccine, but there aren’t any to be had. My sister in law in Salt Lake City tried to get one this morning. They had 1400 vaccines and 3000 to 4000 people showed up. This leads me to another question, are we all going a little crazy over this? I know I have. It’s the unknown. This is a new strain and nobody seems to know anything about it. They do have a vaccine so that’s good. It’s scary for me because my kids are more susceptible to getting it. As we age, we get some immunity. That’s why people over the age of 65 are not going to be given the vaccine until those who are in the “danger zones” get it. From everything I have read, it is considered to be mild once you get it. Of course it’s no fun being sick, but the majority of people who do get sick will start feeling better in a few days. So when the vaccine is available, my family will be in line. But until then the H1N1 is never from my mind.
I personally believe fear of it will do much more harm than the actual virus itself. So…Jonathan and I try not to get too worked up about it. While in an airport last summer, we joked about signs warning people to “stay away from contact with pigs” along with other precautions.
All strains of the flu virus can cause servere illness and even death. Personally I think the media and the governemnt went a bit overboard with the “epidemic hype” when the first cases came out. So now a little sniffle causes people to freak out! Yes it is important for us to be aware of this strain of the virus but much like any virus or bacteria if people will just WASH THEIR HANDS we can kill alot of the little buggers!