More on H1N1...

Schools have obviously received instructions from higher authorities regarding this matter. So this morning, an announcement was duly made requesting teachers in their respective classes to send students with symptoms of flu to the office. The reason was so that letters could be issued to them to seek treatment at the hospital.

By the end of the school day, we had sent around 20 students home or to the hospital. I went to pick son up later at his school and he told me that they sent back more than 40 students! Theirs was more stringent. Those with only cough were sent back too.

My school is a small school... around 700 students. So, I was kinda surprised to find that on a given day, so many are actually sick. And today also happened to be a day with high absenteeism rate because it is the last day of the week and that there are some who are not well. Flu season to blame or H1N1 or fruit season???

With one student in the hospital still under observation, I guess you could say that many of us are rather concerned. But I am also aware of the fact that so far there are many other diseases which kill more than H1N1... diseases like diarrhea in Africa which claim more lives every year, the common flu which takes 250 000 - 500 000 lives each year. What I also do know is this... the pharmaceutical companies (face masks), vaccine companies (new H1M1 vaccine to hit the western market in October), anti-viral (Tamiflu) companies are making killing themselves! Sometimes I wonder, isn't a little panic like this good for their business?

Plus I think we are basically quite clueless as to how to deal with something of this magnitude... in the morning I had the privilege of watching one of my bosses at work. You know how she checked their temperature? She stood in front of them and touched each student's forehead with her hand... One of them could have just coughed right into her face... guidelines if there are just don't seem to register...