Swine flu hype, hysteria or something in between

We have all heard about swine flu. How could you not as the
media won't let you get away from the story. Is this hype,
hysteria or something else? I definitely am not sure it is hype;
but I am also not sure there should be hysteria over this one
either. Something between these extremes would fit here.

If one takes the necessary precautions, which should be part of
any good health practices, they should have no problems. This
also means staying the hell out of Mexico right now until they
get a handle on the outbreak, something which doesn't appear
will happen anytime soon. Should this be a wake up call to
secure the boarder? Absolutely it should but how can this happen
when Secretary Napolitano at Homeland Security is utterly
clueless and incompetent. Screening and quarantine should be the
order of the day at the U.S.. Mexico boarder. That's one way to
stop the spread of this thing. Are liberals that clueless? This
administration appears to be; and it also appears that they don't
want to get Mexico mad at us. Well, this is beyond hurt
feelings. There are lives at stake here. We need to act without
regard for the hurt little feelings of the Mexican government
which doesn't know what it is doing either.

Is the World Health Organization (Who overreacting on this one?
The possibility is there but considering that the Mexican
government doesn't seem to know what it is doing on this one, the
WHO reaction may not be as overblown as you might think.

My advice is don't travel to Mexico. That would be an
irresponsible decision on the part of anyone who makes such a
decision to travel there at this time. Don't come crying to me
when you can't get home because you are sick. Decisions have
consequences and this one is no exception. The difference
between this and other travel decisions is that lives could be in
your hands through the decision you make, including your own.

There is technology out there which can tell if you are hotter
than other passengers with this heat being an indication of a
fever. Why isn't this technology being used? It
needs to be used as one means of stopping the
spread of this illness.

The fact that we don't yet have a Secretary for Health and Human
Services doesn't help either as there is no one leading the
effort on this one. Even the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) is in an acting role. This points
out the need to get moving on appointment, not only by the
administration but also by the Senate. If confirmation is
warranted, then let's get it done. If there are issues holding
up the current nominee, then the administration should consider
its options and act in a manner which will best serve the
country. Not having anyone in the HHS Secretary's post is not a
service to the country. Can we afford it right now given the
current situation? I'm not sure we can.

Again, be careful and take the necessary precautions and you
should be fine. We lived through SARS and we will get through
this one as well.