swine flu

Kerry brings us the amazing news (at least to those of us committed to the hermit's lifestyle) that you can now get Goldenstash bandanas and that they make excellent facial coverups in these days of Swine Flu Code Red OMFG We're All Going to Die:

What would Goldenstash do? Probably, buy a couple bottles of Cold Duck, invite some ladies over and wait for the apocolypse. I hope you do the same.

I wonder what I could get from my respirator, the one I still have one down in the basement from my Operation Replace Half a Wall in the Bathroom?

Jenny Frazier, meanwhile, tweets she is feeling bad for the intern at work today:

Her project? Tracking down local suppliers of surgical face masks for a group. They want 15,000 of em.

Friends,

Here is some information about Swine Flu I've been asked to pass on to you.

Info is now available in 6 languages here - http://www.bphc.org/swineflu Read more

Davis Square statue this morning. Photo by Ringsided.

None of your employees were really worried about swine flu until you all decided this week to send out memos about it. Now they're worried. Please stop taking communications lessons from the Herald, which apparently hasn't gotten the news that while four Massachusetts children died this past winter from boring regular flu, nobody's actually died here from KILLER FLU.

Bostonjess tweets she just saw two college-age types on the Green Line wearing surgical masks.

Garrett Quinn tweets that Channel 7 just spent 13 minutes of a 30-minute newscast on swine flu. Hey, Garrett, Matt Lorch is on Twitter and he just asked: Medical expert we interviewed on air feels media coverage of swine flu is over the top. What do you think?

Mike the Mad Biologist compares the hysteria over swine flu with our ho-hum reaction to boring old regular flu, which kills 36,000 people a year:

... That's double HIV/AIDS deaths. But nobody gets paranoid about handwashing (WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!!). There's no serious awareness of 'coughing' hygiene. It's just shrugged off, even though a successful vaccination strategy would save tens of thousands of lives. Clearly, nobody cares about these deaths: if the public as a whole did care, vaccination would be a sacrament.

But suddenly TEH SWINEY FLOO emerges and suddenly everybody becomes a public health maven. I don't mean to downplay the potential seriousness of this particular influenza, but, so far, it's in roughly the same mortality ballpark as most other influenzas. There needs to be vigilance, but, if this influenza burns out (or even if it doesn't), we'll still have to deal with the seasonal influenza pandemic (which is what it should be called). ...

Channel 4, via AP, reports two Lowell kids back from Mexico have been diagnosed with swine flu. Both are doing well and never returned back to school after getting sick, so officials doubt they spread it to classmates.

The state has activated its emergency swine-flu line: Dial 211 for the 411 on your swine-flu questions.

Apparently, enough people have been calling up the Boston Public Health Commission that the commission felt compelled to issue a statement today:

Dr. Anita Barry, director of the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission, issued the following statement in response to questions from residents about whether it is safe to attend large public events because of the swine flu alert:

"Given that there are no confirmed cases in Boston or Massachusetts, large gatherings in the community need not be cancelled at this time. People who are not ill do not need to restrict their activities; they should continue to follow the advice of state and local public health officials, who will notify the community and work with institutions if and when cases are confirmed and if and when large-scale events need to be cancelled.

It is always a good idea for people who are ill to refrain from going to large public gatherings not only because of swine flu but also other infections. In addition, people with underlying medical conditions who are at high risk for complications of influenza may wish to consider avoiding large gatherings. The Public Health Commission will carefully monitor case finding information and get guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to make appropriate changes to this directive as warranted."

Or as Karen Wise tweets:

Good thing about swine flu pandemic: I haven't worried about MRSA all week.

Dr. Anita Barry, director of the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission, talks about, well, you know:

MSNBC vaguely reports.