By Scott Wheeler
Newport, VT – Turn on the television, the radio, or open a newspaper and one is bombarded with news and information about the “Swine Flu”, more technically known as “H1N1”. Many people are taking this new strain of flu very seriously, while other people are scoffing about it, insisting that it is little more than unnecessary hysteria.
One might be surprised that even as a community relations writer for North Country Health System, which includes writing about H1N1, and as a member of the Vermont House Healthcare Committee, I wasn’t totally convinced the concern for this strain of flu was justified. I just couldn’t grasp why there was so much concern for a flu, which symptoms in many cases are milder than the standard seasonal flu, a flu which typically kills between 30,000 and 40,000 Americans each year.
I perceived the fear of a flu pandemic as little more than “hysteria” perpetrated by people in the science and medical world, along with the media, to break up the monotony of their work. What is the hype about a less deadly strain of flu? I just couldn’t figure it out – that is until I again sat down with my colleague at North Country, Dr. Paul Newton. Dr. Newton is the director of the hospital’s Emergency Department and the chairman of North Country’s Flu Planning Committee. I had been listening to his message in person and on his radio spots for a couple months but I still didn’t get it. Yes, I was a terrible skeptic about the possible impact of this new strain of flu.
During this recent meeting with Dr. Newton I think I subconsciously set out to show the doctor the errors of his thinking, that H1N1 is little more than hype, certainly nothing people should worry much about. But during that meeting something totally different happened – I had a revelation, one of those “Aha” moments. Suddenly I understood what Dr. Newton and the rest of the medical community were trying to explain all along. The H1N1 is something we should take seriously.
Yes, it’s true this new strain of flu is no more deadly, and in many cases is milder than the seasonal flu, but the sheer number of people who are expected to contract it is staggering. Estimates are that upwards of 50% of the U.S. population will eventually come down with H1N1. This percentage is in contrast to about five to 20 percent of Americans who will come down with the seasonal flu.
Why the discrepancy between the percentages of people who will contract two forms of flu? In part it’s because during most years the pharmaceutical companies and the medical communities are ready to wage war against the seasonal flu with vaccines, drastically reducing the number of people who would have otherwise contracted it.
On the other hand, the introduction of a swine flu vaccine has been slow. Although the vaccine is slowly becoming available, there is still a shortage.
The most at-risk populations, particularly children, pregnant women, and direct care medical workers are first in line to receive the vaccine. Most likely a large percentage of the world’s population will remain unvaccinated against H1N1 during this flu season, thus leading to huge numbers of cases.
Although there is no way to know how many people will suffer the wrath of H1N1, if the medical community’s fears prove accurate, this flu will certainly impact our lives. Children are particularly at risk with this strain of flu. The number of people seeking medical treatment will prove problematic for the healthcare community. However, in saying that, North Country has been proactive in preparing for a flu outbreak, whether seasonal flu or H1N1, or both.
Yes, I now understand what all the concern is about surrounding H1N1; however, I don’t believe we can allow fear to dictate our lives. Instead, I urge people to take the precautions that the medical community, including Dr. Newton, is recommending, among them, regular hand washing and staying home from work or school when you’re sick. As for the H1N1 vaccine, I understand it is as safe, or safer, than the seasonal flu vaccine, a vaccine I get every year. Being a person who doesn’t like being sick, or has time to be out of commission, I hope to get both vaccines when they become available for the general population. However, I’m not going to tell other people whether they should get either flu vaccine – that is up to you and your doctor to decide.
