If H1N1 were on the stock market, I'd buy.

Are you watching the media event that we call Swine Flu.  Oops, we're not supposed to call it Swine Flu.  Pig farmers claim it gives their product a black eye.  H1N1 (now we're PC!) is receiving more conflicting media coverage than Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today, Americans are being told to brace themselves for explosions of flu, school closures, mass vaccinations and tens of thousands of deaths — or perhaps not. Are the media to blame for the confusion? Absolutely. 

A headline on the September 28th cover of Time Magazine, reads "Flu phobia.  How fear goes viral and what you can do."   The story discusses American's fears, and we have lots of them about swine flu.  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) issues daily email updates and RSS feeds.  A CDC spokesman says in the Time article, "It's going to be a unique flu season.  The only thing certain is that it's going to be uncertain."

What is the truth about swine flu? Is it real?  Is it media hype?  Does it only exist on a Hollywood sound stage the next lot over from the Apollo 11 moon-landing set?  Unfortunately, it's real.  It's everywhere.  It's a pandemic.

Cases are on the rise.  Fear is rising and the looming shadow of this generation's first pandemic seems to come at a bad time.  Families without health insurance seek refuge in the nation's emergency rooms.  Schools suffer shortages of nurses.  Who wants to risk losing a job in this economy by taking excessive sick time?  How many families are going to get fever, chills, nausea and worse, for Christmas?

The psychological toll piled on top of an already tough life for many could exact a high price from a bankrupt public psyche that is plodding towards a dreadful holiday season short on cash, enthusiasm and optimism.  We have had some fat years and how could things get so bad, so fast?

These are some of the questions many are asking and there are few answers to console.  Of the answers that experts do have, one of the most chilling is the certainty that H1N1 is for real, and that people are dying.  Sadly, more children are dying from this strain of the flu than any other in recent history.

The CDC keeps great statistics and their latest headline declares that 76 children have died so far this year from swine flu.  Reportedly, the highest number of children killed by any strain of the flu has been 88, and our year has three months left.  Illness is accelerating.  Hospitalizations are increasing.  The death count is rising.  If H1N1 were on the stock market, I'd buy.

Despite the uncertainty comment, the CDC guarantees a few things: nearly half the country, including pregnant women, children, and anyone with asthma, diabetes or heart disease, will face a higher risk of getting seriously sick.


Oh, and another sure bet:  this virus could turn really deadly at any time.

This week's release of the first swine flu immunizations marks the most ambitious vaccination program ever undertaken in U.S. history.  All amid increasing skepticism surrounding all vaccinations' ties to autism, as well as the publicized uncertainties that this vaccine was produced too fast, without appropriate time to be proven.

My 9-year-old had the flu all last week.  Did he have swine flu?  Does it matter?  He ran a fever for three days and then he was back to normal; wiping his nose on his shirt and his greasy taquito fingers on his pants.  What are you going to do if you get the flu?  Are you going to get immunized?  Take the poll on the left and see where you stand.