omg swine flu 303!!!

[Floweryfields]

This morning, the experts were saying 'containing and quarantining' is actually worse - as people don't have the chance to develop a natural immunity - which means that the virus has the chance to become more vidulant and develop stronger strains.
They are saying they should be allowing it to 'run it's course' and peter out naturally.

And yes, 99 people died from it in Mexico - who's health system is very poor. But last year close to 800 people died around the world from the standard influenza A.

[dust]

Im worried bout swine flu.(there's alot of people saying many things atm. it could mutate. the vaccine may need 2 doses for immunity so halving the people to 5million. common flu people not getting tamiflu as its not swine flu.)
im 30weeks pregnant and will then have a newborn & a 13month old to protect... im very close to getting DD1 a flu mask to wear at school. I reckon why not?!

Weve all got a common cold at the moment, sniffles and a chesty cough... had it for 3 weeks now. Ive sent DD1 to school 3/5 school days for the past 3 weeks. Usually a mon & tues or a thurs & friday hoping that 4 days (inside and restful) would help her get better. I help out with the reading 2 days a week (when DD1 goes) and im shocked at how many of her classmates are sick, how often the teacher has to say "hand over your mouth".

I know im a big hypocrite if i say i wish parents wouldn't send their kids to school with even the smallest sniffle and i wonder if alot of us are like that. I have no excuse, as i don't work. But i feel enormous pressure by her school to have her there. They make a big deal out of absences & lateness in assembly, newsletter to the point of having a competition each week. "its not ok to be away-even if its your birthday!" was the line in the newsletter up till now its "its not ok to be away-unless you are sick" But still i feel pressure, partly school and partly me worried that DD1 will be falling so behind!!

DH boss is great. DH ran out of sick leave ages ago. But i do worry how long that kindness will last to a degree.

i think the quarantining has worked to a degree and that they are right in saying alot of people had it before they picked up on it. A person picking up a girl from DD's class said he had swine flu to another parent standing beside me. the female with him laughed a bit and coughed.. the parent questioned that he should be in quarantine and he shrugged it off with a smile. How am i meant to know if he was kidding or not?! I really don't find that humorous.. however i did like this one line "I tried calling the swine flu hotline. It was a bad connection....all I got was crackling". that's funny, joking that you have it, to me isn't.

frankly if i wasn't in the pregnant, elderly, cancer treatment patient group that swine flu could/is/whatever fatal. then i may also be one to be on the "its all hype", "so tired of hearing about it", "blah-blah people die from ordinary flu each year". to a degree i think thats kinda insensitive and selfish(no offense). Especially if people are getting annoyed that it keeps coming up in the news... however if it never made the news & we didn't get updates on it each night. we'd all be screaming that the government & media were keeping us in the dark and not doing enough. So in the end whats better? being kept informed or in the dark? I don't think its a hype. It'd be nice if they treated the normal flu like swine flu too. (as in quarantine, tallies) I'm all for that.. but i think businesses would be unhappy at raising the days of sick leave!