The 1918 flu pandemic started off in the spring of the year. It appeared to fade away but came back with a vengeance in the fall.

I think that we may see history repeating itself with the new swine flu outbreak. Fall is like the perfect storm for spreading disease. The students (vectors for disease transmission ) all go back to school and start to share their germs with each other. Colleges start up with their students housed in high density housing and of course the weather change encourages people to spend time indoors. So, I'm predicting we're going to see the swine flu again towards the end of the year.

The scientist still don't say why there are more deaths in Mexico than other countries so that is a question that I'd like to see answered.

I'd also like to know the formulation that is being proposed for the flu shots this fall.
There seems to be a level of paranoia associated with vaccines in general and I'm curious who will be getting a flu shot this fall. Even if you normally don't take the jab are you going to consider it this year?






[edit on 29-4-2009 by Wildbob77]

I'm certain there will be a vaccine, and I'm sure there are plenty of super-paranoid folks who will avoid taking it, afraid of that NWO thing.

But even if there were some NWO agenda, if a virulent flu is going around that could kill you, one would think you'd still take the vaccine.

Right now, I'm thinking that I will get a flu shot this fall.

I'm usually not one of the first people to get a flu shot but I usually get one.

I haven't had a bad reaction to any of my previous flu shots and I almost never get sick.

Luckily it's still our personal decision this time around whether or not to get the "North American Influenza" shot (to use the WHO-recommended naming strategy for this disease outbreak).

I was part of the 1/4 of the U.S. population in the 1976 swine flu outbreak who was forced to get the vaccination then because I had just started working at a healthcare facility, so our vaccination was mandatory. So will having been vaccinated against that swine flu outbreak help me this year? Time will tell.

Based on what I know now, I would refuse vaccines developed that supposedly will immunize one against the 2009 influenza outbreak. Will I be allowed to refuse, even though I no longer work in the health field? Great question.

On the other issue the OP raised, the issue of timing, where we see mostly mild outbreaks in the spring, followed by a quiet few months and then devastating further outbreaks around August 2009, I'd hope that the mild cases now will be studied carefully so that the possibility of an initial mild illness conferring resistance to the more virulent possible August outbreak can be better understood. It would be preferable, for instance, to know that schools should actually be kept in session now in order to increase everyone's chances of avoiding a more virulent disease outbreak in August.

[edit on 4/29/2009 by Uphill]

This is an important thread and important discussion.
You are absolutely right ... we'll see more deaths in the fall with a mutation.

In 32 years of life on this planet I have never gotten a flu shot and, curiously, have never gotten the flu either. I see no reason to buck personal history this year by getting a needle jab filled with God only knows what.

WHO has upped the rating to 5.

Quick, everybody run amok waving your arms and screaming.

Now, resume your life like nothing happened.

I don't worry about the immediate future. We're almost into summer and the flu will fall back. Most people will forget about it until it comes back in winter.

Then, it may take off once again.

Star and Flag!!
You bet it will and it'll be stronger and more deadly than ever!! the spring and summer months don't provide the proper environment for the flu and that's why this scares me so bad. I'm afraid when flu season hits, it will become another 1918, but a much higher # of deaths.

I'm not really worried about it. If I see a person coughing and sneezing around me I'll avoid them, but you won't see me getting the shot unless someone in my family gets the swine flu first. The problem is its allergy season right now! EVERYONES SNEEZ ING AND COUGHING!!

The only difference between this and SARS, avian flu, etc. is that its originating in north america and not somewhere in asia, but they were really pushing the scare mongering tactics with those, touting them as the next plague practically, and nothing came from it except a bunch of stress and money for the vaccine-makers.

[edit on 29-4-2009 by mostlyspoons]

I'm sorry to say that the difference with this and other the flu strains is that NO ONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD seems to be immune to this new strain, and as it passes on to each person, it creates a high possibility of another mutation.

Today's news is stressing that this strain of flu seems to be very mild.

That's great news. However, I still have to admit that I'm concerned for the next flu season. It could be that those people who catch the mild strain will be the lucky ones.

I think that we'll see this again towards the end of the year and I sincerely hope that it continues to be a mild strain and doesn't mutate to a more deadly strain.