Your spiritual thoughts on H1N1

[Snow]

-Is it right to pray to be protected from this? Or should we accept it as God's will?

In what way would praying about it not be accepting God's will? ... which is what your questions imply.

-Have you prayed about getting yourself/family vaccinated? (I bring this up only because of the major divide in opinion over the safety of the vaccine)

There is no major divide. There are only some fringe fear-mongers who claim it is unsafe.

-The big question: Are you honestly ready to meet your Lord? This is an extreme question, but it is very important to consider with the relatively high fatality rates.

There are not "relatively high fatality rates" from the H1N1. There are relatively low rates. Every year about 36,000 people die of the seasonal flu in the U.S. So far the number of U.S. deaths from the H1N1 are in the hundreds. It's more infectious than the season flu but less lethal.

-Is your testimony strong enough to face this without fear?

Seriously?

Maybe the H1N1 is here to humble us, and maybe for someone like myself, to really put my testimony to the test. I have found myself pouring my heart out to my Heavenly Father the last couple days, praying for virtually everyone. This is just a really scary time. I wish everyone and their families the best.

You think that God infects us - infants for example - in order to humble them? Egads.

How about this - God doesn't kill babies to teach them a lesson.

[TruthSeeker]

Snow,

I wish I could agree, but I can not. In a recent poll, 49% of America thinks the vaccine is safe, and 43 % does not. Sounds like it is pretty split down the middle.

Also, as we have seen in the BOM, God has certainly humbled the people with methods that might be similar to this. These are all honest questions. Not trying to stir controversy.

[bcguy]

Its simple,

We are creatures that live and die from disease like any other creature. Its just that we have the intelligence to find solutions to our survival above all other creatures. This is a strain of flue that should not be to concerned about vs the regular flue that kills tens of thousands of people every winter. Now, iF you are young, pregnant or have other medical conditions then its time to get the shot.

Eventually another 1918 flue will reduce the population again some time in the future.

[Dravin]

I don't like all of this media hype.

I think even if H1N1 was to be a repeat of the 1918 pandemic the media would hype it up and blow it out of proportion. It's what they do.

[Guest xforeverxmetalx]

Obama declares swine flu a national emergency - Yahoo! News

a bit over 1000 people dead... out of over 300 million...

national emergency?

[TruthSeeker]

Although there are only 1000 dead out of 300 million, we need to look at how many people die out of how many contract it. I have read different things on this rate, but one of the articles said that about 1% are dying who contract it. Might seem low, but if 65%(one of the predicted numbers) of the country contracts H1N1, you're looking at over 3 million dead. Thats a lot.

[HEthePrimate]

First of all, don't panic. The likelihood of dying from H1N1 is very low. Just take proper precautions like washing your hands, elbow sneezing, and if you do get sick, for heaven's sake, stay home as much as possible and get some rest!

I think it's perfectly appropriate to pray for protection. It may help. But if you get sick anyway, don't lose your testimony over it--people get sick, bad things happen to good people, and God still exists.

It is a little scary, but I think the media hype it up a bit because it makes a good story. Yes, do take precautions, but again, there's no reason to panic.

It seems that children are at the greatest risk, so make sure your kids get inoculated. At my age I'm not at that great of a risk, and I don't tend to get sick very often anyway, so I'll wait for my H1N1 vaccine until the local population of children has had plenty of opportunity to get theirs first. And no, it's not entirely altruistic, either--children are more likely to spread disease if they get sick, so it's in everybody's interest that they not get sick!

[Guest xforeverxmetalx]

Although there are only 1000 dead out of 300 million, we need to look at how many people die out of how many contract it. I have read different things on this rate, but one of the articles said that about 1% are dying who contract it. Might seem low, but if 65%(one of the predicted numbers) of the country contracts H1N1, you're looking at over 3 million dead. Thats a lot.

let me know when 65% of the country gets it, then I'll worry about it.

[john doe]

I'm sorry, but the elbow-sneezing things cracks me up. Use a Kleenex! Or a handkerchief. Who wants to be around a person with snot running all down the inside of their elbow? What if they rub up against you in a cramped elevator? How did that help?

[john doe]

I have a feeling that many of us will get it and never know. We will treat our symptoms for a couple days, they will go away and we will be fine.

[Snow]

Snow,

I wish I could agree, but I can not. In a recent poll, 49% of America thinks the vaccine is safe, and 43 % does not. Sounds like it is pretty split down the middle.

Hmmm... then it is safe to say that 43% of Americans are the same caliber of geniuses as the millions of viewer that made Two and a Half Men a hit TV show.

Edited October 25, 2009 by Snow

[BenRaines]

CDC - Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Q & A: Questions and Answers Regarding Estimating Deaths from Influenza in the United States

Average of 36,000 a year in US die from seasonal flu related symptoms. We will have to see how the season plays out but even a doubling of this number by swine flu to me would not seem overly dramatic. 36,000 is a long way from 3 million.

We have much better hygiene practices today then there were back during the plague days of Europe or the great influenza epidemic of the turn of the century in the US.

Ben Raines