No Swine Flu in Cache Valley...Yet

I might have thought Utah would be protected more than other states, particularly out of ski season. But I guess the locals have been high tailing it to Mexico for mudseason and they've brought back pandemic flu. Swell. The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that there are 5 cases in the state. Here in Cache Valley, we take our threats seriously. A coworker just went out to grab some hand sanitizer and it's getting hard to come by.

It's hard to know what to make of it. But 20 people here, 6 people there, surely there are more people with flu than that on a typical day anyways. I sat in a pandemic flu preparedness workshop when avian flu was going to strike about 3 years ago. The worst case scenario is bad...way bad. Just what we need to follow the subprime crisis. Shutting down schools, businesses and airtravel (part of the typical worse case scenario) is sure to do us in if the flu doesn't. It did make me think what's worse, the flu or our reaction to it? That's actually what I'm most worried about. Everyone freaks out - won't travel -won't go outside - service industries have no one serve - maybe no employees - recession becomes depression.

Since I figured I couldn't in good conscious not be prepared for pandemic flu after spending a whole day learning about it, I each went so far as to get an N-95 respirator mask at the time. Two actually. I used one just last week when sawing (before the threat of pandemic flu reared it's ugly head again). Thank goodness I have one stored in a safe place. I wonder if I should use it on my flight next week.

Economic observation: I give it two days before someone says that pandemic flu is going to have a positive impact on the economy (just like WW-II and the great depression!). Then perchance the economy turns around some time within the next year. For the next 75 years people will speculate about how disease or natural disasters are just what you need in an economic downturn (since war isn't working as well as it used to).