H1N1: Emergency or Inconvenience?

(Thumbnail image: Bloomberg)

“President Obama declared a national H1N1 Emergency; an ominous sounding name for what officials insist is a purely preemptive move. In the declaration, the president said, “The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities.” (CNN)

The Obama administration is treating H1N1 as an emergency, but how are Americans handling the flu?

We find out through perspectives from KRIV, KTVX, NPR, KCAL, NBC and MSNBC.

One way that parents are handling H1N1 is to turn to old solutions, getting their kids together with families that have H1N1 in an attempt to raise their child’s immunity to the flu.  The Fox affiliate in Houston and an ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City reports that swine flu parties are raising questions.

“There are social events where people deliberately gather with someone infected by swine flu.  There's no hand sanitizer and guests share drinks. […flash…] Parents’ logic, if you want to call it that, is to let their kids deal with swine flu now, mildly, instead of later, more seriously.” (KRIV)

And here are some views from Utah moms who are for the party idea.

“Mom 1:I think I would send my kids to one [swine flu party]. You'd send your kids to get swine flu? Sure why not'
“Mom2: Before we had swine flu, I probably would have thought it was crazy, but we got it and it wasn't that bad; so…”
“Mother Angel Kelson says she sees these swine flu parties as convenient control:
“If they're going to get sick, they'll be home already. Not missing out on anything.”” (KTVX)

NPR talks to the CDC spokesman who doesn’t recommend parents taking their children to the swine flu gatherings.
“There's just no sense in having unnecessarily exposed your child to a virus that has the potential to cause a lot of illness, particularly if your child has some sort of underlying health condition like asthma or diabetes.”

However, Americans are still waiting in long lines to get the H1N1 vaccine. The Los Angeles CBS affiliate (KCAL) interviewed some who waited hours in the rain to get the vaccine.

“Whole families skipped Saturday morning cartoons and braved the rain and the line to snap up 12,000 doses of the drug.”
‘No, I don’t have the shot, but he has the shot and I feel a lot better. That’s why I waited in a line for five hours.’
‘Five hours?’
‘Five hours.'”

A report on NBC’s Today Show shows people across the U.S. are searching for the vaccine.

“In Barack-ville, Maryland, 1,500 people lined up for their vaccine this week and soon the nurses' covers were there. In Cincinnati, 13,000 doses were available but officials still had to cut the line short. In Milwaukee, the hopefuls brave the rain; In Las Vegas they braved the sun. 'We only have two more left.'"

Finally, despite the desperation, MSNBC shares a perspective from a medical professional who says the pandemic is still manageable at this time.

“Remember, we’re doing pretty well at the present time. We haven’t had emergency rooms and intensive care units stretch to the breaking point. So far around the country, we’re managing this outbreak very well.”

So what do you think? Is an H1N1 pandemic a national emergency to you?