Bob CollinsThere was an odd moment on early morning TV today when an anchor for the CBS Early Show announced that the regular host wasn’t in today because he’s out sick. “It could be H1N1,” she said.
Harry Smith, the regular host, then hauled himself off his deathbed and called into the show to reveal that he’s feeling OK, but he’s achey and feverish.
Runny nose? Temperature of 99.6? Why is this a big deal?
Meanwhile, in Minnesota today, it’s reported that a vaccine against H1N1 “may get here too late?”
It’s pretty clear by now that H1N1 isn’t a death pandemic for most people. You get a runny nose. You get some fever. You feel lousy. And your best friends will make a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be.
Of course, if everyone comes down with H1N1 at the same time, companies will be hard-pressed to have enough workers to operate; every day will be like Fridays in the summer.
But the flu only last a few days and, so far, doesn’t appear to present the threat to elderly people than the “regular flu” does, a fact that doesn’t yield a very interesting headline..
