A-pork-alypse Now: The Swine Flu Distraction

As if there isn’t enough to worry about lately (i.e.: the recession, resurgent oil prices, potentially higher corporate and personal income taxes, new government regs, the Employee Free Choice Act, etc.), now your business might be dealing with…(insert scary, musical crescendo here)…THE SWINE FLU. Let’s pause the current rash of fear-mongering by the media in general (and the 24-hr cable-news pushers in particular) and look at the facts:

1. There are only 132 confirmed cases of swine flu in the entire US, its territories and possessions. Most are mild, and only a handful of people are even now hospitalized for it.

2. Only one person has died from swine flu in the US: a young Mexican boy visiting Texas. By contrast, since Jan. 1, about 32,000 people worldwide have died from regular Influenza Type A. Where was the news coverage of that?

Of course, it’s prudent to be prepared, and your company should have a plan to deal with the situation…if it truly does escalate. Businesses and other employers will play a key role in protecting workers’ health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society. Get more information HERE from the US Dept. of Health & Human Services’ PandemicFlu.gov Website.

Does your company have a contingency plan to deal with something like a swine-flu pandemic? Go to our Home Page poll and let me know.

In the meantime, do what Mom always told you:
► Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
► Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective.

Sorry to be so “common sense,” but it’s also common sense to not get panicky over something that through today’s instant, global communication seems a lot worse than the reality.

Image source: Babe, The Movie (1995)

_________________________________________________
Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CnvCurmudgeon.
Sign up for a Twitter account so I can follow you.