Although I am almost always of the opinion, that if you don't have your health-you really don't have much of anything at all, that it should therefore be preserved at every measure of precaution-I'm not convinced that prohibiting all students from attending school rather than only those who have been in contact (or suspected contact) with the virus prevents rather than exacerberates this problem. Certainly, the mere possibility of a few students having come in contact with the virus will not deter thousands of other students from fully enjoying a 2-3 week "vacation" in which they will probably interact just as much (if not more intimately) with their peers than if school was in session. New York Mayor, Bloomberg, appears to affirmt the sentiment that such a total shut-down is a bit of an over-reaction as he states that the eight cases confirmed at a city school were mild – and only a small fraction of the 100-some students who thought they had swine flu actually did.
In Atlanta, Dr. Bob England, director of Public Health, further substantiates my conviction that school (for the most part) should remain open as he reasons, " Because current data does not suggest that this strain of H1N1 is behaving any differently than seasonal flu, I am recommending schools Maricopa County no longer dismiss classes." Several other public health officials contend that there is no reason to believe that the swine flu is no more virulent than any other forms of influenza and that the aggressive measures are only being taken because the strain is new.
For these reasons, I do not believe that this new health scare or potential epidemic entirely warrants the kind of absolute shut-down in schools across the nation.
:-)
Posted by: DrE | 05/04/2009 at 05:37 AM