Zach Smith: Look out for Elephants: The H1N1 Hype

To the Editor:

Have you heard about the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus? I am sure you have. When I first heard about H1N1 virus, I heard it would be the next pandemic and if you didn’t do something about it soon, you more than likely would die. Well, I didn’t die. In fact, I think I’ve gotten less sick since I’ve heard about Swine Flu. So what’s the deal?

The truth is, the reason I am not dying is because the Swine Flu is generally much less deadly then the common seasonal flu.
According to Santa Clara University’s Margaret McLean, the seasonal flu causes 30,000 American deaths every year. The Swine Flu? Only 600 U.S. deaths since mid-April.

Now you may be thinking, well, 600 is still a lot. And I agree, but it’s not so alarming when you look at what else kills that much in a year.
Breathing our air causes 850 deaths a year, thanks to air pollution.  Elephants trample 600 people a year, and 550 deaths come from foodborne salmonella in the food you eat.

These are everyday risks you take just being alive. Swine flu isn’t as bad as you probably think.

Television and the media play a large role in how people see the world in which we live. If all you see on TV, newspapers, flyers, radio, etc., are horror stories of deaths from Swine Flu, common sense suggests that you will think that the disease is extremely harmful.

You see a lot of this with many things. School shootings, tornados, and getting struck by lightning. These are all extremely rare, but people worry about them happening on a day-to-day basis.

Now I am not saying that you shouldn’t do anything because swine flu won’t happen to you. You should still wash your hands frequently and cover your mouth when you cough, and if you think you are worthy enough to get a flu shot, then so be it.

Just don’t be so worried about it anymore. Take the burden off your shoulders and relax a bit. Remember, you have just about the same chance of dying from swine flu as you do of being killed by an elephant.

Zach Smith
Fargo