Comments about ‘Swine flu: Pandemic or hype? Utahn still struggles with deadly disease’

H1N1 is very, very serious and we all need to be more aware of the first symptoms, but if we have access to the immunization, we need to PREVENT it if we can.

HYPE!!!!!!

I got my H1N1 flu shot, and had my wife and daughter get it as well. That is one nasty disease that I do not want to play around with. The government did the right thing to get the word out and push things like they did.

As much as I detest and distrust this Federal Administration, in truth I have to give them credit in taking it seriously. Not taking it seriously -- and then having a massive outbreak -- would have been disastrous. I don't think that they had a choice in this matter, armed with the information they had in their hands at that time. With 20/20 hindsight, we now know that it wasn't as bad as feared, at least for most folks. However, they had to make the call before all the facts were in; otherwise they couldn't have moved in any kind of a timely basis. Classic "damned if you do; damned if you don't" situation. I'm not going to Monday-morning quarterback their call on this one.

P.S. -- Just as a reminder, we may not be done with this thing just yet. It could mutate at any time, and the immunizations may still have at least partial value. I do not regret having had the shot.

As much as I detest and distrust this Federal Administration, in truth I have to give them credit in taking it seriously. Not taking it seriously -- and then having a massive outbreak -- would have been disastrous. I don't think that they had a choice in this matter, armed with the information they had in their hands at that time. With 20/20 hindsight, we now know that it wasn't as bad as feared, at least for most folks. However, they had to make the call before all the facts were in; otherwise they couldn't have moved in any kind of a timely basis. Classic "damned if you do; damned if you don't" situation. I'm not going to Monday-morning quarterback their call on this one.

P.S. -- Just as a reminder, we may not be done with this thing just yet. It could mutate at any time, and the immunizations may still have at least partial value. I do not regret having had the shot.

We have been told our whole lives from out parents and others, Wash Your hands, OFTEN, you will prevent germs, When I worked for a University, in Provo, They were telling everyone Wash Your hands, Change your gloves, if you sneeze, or Do not handle food with out Gloves, & Wash Them Often, It is jut Common Sense, I and a hand fanatic I wash my hands about 20-25 times a day, And I keep bath & Body Works, in business, Lets try to was out hands so we do not get sick like the guy in this article, Best wishes, and use Common Sense,

Nice try in justifying hype. Billions wasted. More people die from regular flu each year than the swine flu.

What about the question of whether or not the vaccination is actually effective? Remember is was rushed onto the market. What are the crippling side effects, including death, conveniently side stepped? What about the fact it has dangerous mercury in it?

And what about the fact a simple thing like adequate Vitamin D would provide your body with a real flu killer?

Immunizations ARE NOT the perfect panacea as the drug companies want you to believe and the press is so willing to HYPE and fuel fear!

It's hard to tell how much is real and how much is hype. It isn't hard to tell that the government does too much and overly restricts the private sector. Their rules and mandates restrict my choices and make it harder for me to use my own judgment in maintaining my own health.

I think it was both serious and overly hyped.

In any case, I'm glad that Mr. Morgan is on the mend.

You say "As much as I detest and distrust this Federal Administration...."

Did you detest it as deeply when the President was a white man?

Be honest. Pray and find the truth within you.

Those crying "hype" aren't members of my family. We too nearly lost a member last summer - and before he got sick he was one of those calling the whole thing hype. Nine months later he's still not fully recovered. Lungs take a long time to heal.

To Utahn: I hope you catch a seriuos dose of th3e HYPE !!!!! next time it comes around. Anonymous 8:13 AM: Let's see how much your life is worth when it hangs in the balance. I saw my Brother almost die from this awful disease. I fearfully awaited word of his death every day for 2 months. His life was in danger the whole time. Keep your ignorant comments and cold hearts to yourselves. It is good you don't have to identify yourselves on this blog. If you did, people who knoiw you would laugh at you in public.

I didn't get a shot (lazy, not paranoid like so many), and have yet in my life to use one of those silly 'hand sanitizer' things. Yes, it's serious, but it was the disease du jour which was in all the news. The preparations made us look wise. The news coverage made us look silly.

I'm still on the fence about the whole H1N1 scare. At first I was highly skeptical. I had at least a dozen friends or acquaintances get diagnosed with H1N1 and everyone of them said it was no worse than the ordinary flu they've had before. They were really sick for a few days and were back at full strength within a couple weeks. However, I look back and think it wasn't that bad and was all hype. How do we know the precautions that were taken weren't the reason for it not being worse? I know many more people who received the vaccination who hadn't received a flu shot since they were children. I'm still slightly skeptical, but not as much as before.

As for for the Morgans, I know them personally and am very relieved Rick is getting better.

Thank you so much to the doctors and nurses who worked so tirelessy to save Rick's Life, and to the wife and family who wouldn't let Rick go, and to the Good Lord for allowing miracles to happen daily so that Rick could continue to raise his children and grandchildren.

"Pandemic or hype" is completely the wrong way to look at it. It's not one or the other -- it's both.

Hype? Yes.

When the virus started circulating, nobody knew how quickly it could spread and how deadly it might be. Experts were justifiably worried. At that stage, the media machine smelled a sensational story, gripped in their jaws, and hyped it relentlessly. Watching the news when the story first hit, you'd have thought we were staring at the end of all human civilization.

Pandemic? Yes.

Turns out, H1N1 flu *was* a pandemic. Might still be (we don't know what'll happen next flu season with this new strain of flu in the mix). The virus raced through the human population, hitting nearly every country in the world: classic definition of a pandemic. (Pandemic literally means "all people".)

Also turns out it wasn't any deadlier than the average flu virus. Which doesn't mean it's not dangerous; people die from the flu all the time.

Rick Morgan was very unlucky to get it as bad as he did -- I'm glad he survived and is getting better.

Think H1N1 preceded the presidential administration currently in office. Regardless, why would you make it a race issue? If a person distrusts the administration, does it have to be because of the color of their skin, or could it possibly be because they just plain distrust the people in charge? I can think of several presidential administrations during my lifetime that I've distrusted....guess I must be totally screwed up because only one of them was of a different race.

H1N1 is a type A influenza, but it is a new strain so no one really knows if it will shift again and rear it's ugly head in the summer. It was and is a pandemic because it effected almost all countries. It was slightly hyped in the media, but I don't think the vaccination campaign would have been effective if it wasn't. Around 35,000 people a year die from some form of influenza in the US. MIllions died from the epidemic of 1918. It was a new unknown strain. H1N1 is a new unknown strain. Maybe this time, for once we learned from history and saved millions of lives with the vaccine. Ask anyone who had the disease, like Rick Morgan, if they will be immunized next year and you will likely get a resounding YES!!!!!

The definition of pandemic is infection in more than three countries regardless of the number of cases.

It was estimated that by the time the vaccine reach the market a majority of the Americans had been previously infected with the virus and had immunity. Most people thought that they had a cold. Countless more people die from the tradition flu each year but often the cause of death is listed as something other than the flu i.e. pneumonia. Within a few weeks after the vaccine came out we reach a level of immunity due to the infected population and vaccinated population to reach herd immunity (less chances of transmission). So why is the government spending millions in advertising to have people still be vaccinated when the likelihood that the people already have some immunity to the virus?

can not do everything for us. Look at the mess we are in with the government trying to do so much. Where is old fashioned responsibility. Buy your own flu shots if you want them.

A true pandemic was the Spanish Flu (so named) of 1918 and 1919. Approximately 50 million dead from it. Now, that was one deadly bug!