Enough with the H1N1

Are you scared yet? Have you boarded up the windows? Maybe you should go and buy a year's worth of canned goods and bottled water, if you haven't already done so.
The H1N1 influenza has cancelled sports, and, God forbid, cut down on the number of trick-or-treaters this past Halloween. Some people believe the world will come to an end 2012. However, unlike 2000, when we thought planes and satellites would fall from the sky when midnight brought in the new millennium, it looks like a flu could be our downfall.
There are precautions you can take to prevent the spread of germs, but is this new news? Did we just learn that washing our hands could prevent the spread of germs? Some parents may let their child go to school, but don't want them practicing with a sports team. What's the difference if they wear sweaty hockey gloves, or touch a doorknob or stair rail on their way to math class?
It seems that ever since 9/11 the world has been so easy to scare - so easy to sway. We see H1N1 as this apparent germ beast that's threatening to take over society, as if Godzilla itself was perched on top of Gander International Airport swatting oncoming planes with gigantic pig-fists.
The fact is, life must go on, and we can't go through life constantly thinking about H1N1. We don't stop leaving the house because we're scared of getting hit by a car. We don't stop playing sports because we're scared of breaking a leg. We don't stop hunting because we're scared another hunter will mistakingly shoot us. So why stop going to hockey practice because we're scared of contacting H1N1? If we were going to avoid everything that can make us sick or injure us, we'll panic and panic until the ol' ticker stopped beating.
People wait in lines for hours for a vaccination that hasn't been tested properly, yet we'll have unprotected sex when we know AIDS WILL kill us…not might…WILL, and yet we still have unprotected sex. Why don't health boards, and/or government ministers hold news conferences about that?
In 2006, it was estimated that 5.5 million South Africans were living with HIV. It was also estimated that 70 newborn children an hour were infected with the virus by their mother, and 45 infants died from AIDS-related causes every hour.
In Canada, over 1,500 young people under the age of 19 were diagnosed with HIV between 1985 and 2005. It was reported in 2006 that as of 2005, 666 Canadians between the ages of 10-24 were diagnosed with Aids.
The Public Health Agency of Canada released information in 2006 stating that 58,000 Canadians were living with the HIV virus.
Sure, it's great to practice procedures that could limit the spread of germs, but washing your hands shouldn't be a new practice - it should have been something you started doing when you were high enough to see over the sink. Keeping furniture and office equipment clean is something people have been doing for years. Not going to work, or staying home from school when you're sick has been going on for many, many, many, years. We don't have to be reminded of this.
There's no reason to panic, and there's no reason to shelter yourself with a SARS mask and bottle of Javex. We'll shudder, and wash our hands with fear when we hear of a H1N1-related death, but hearing that Aids took someone's life makes us go, "That's too bad."
We couldn't take outside water bottles, not even toothpaste, on planes after 9/11, and now H1N1 is keeping people away from sporting tournaments, extracurricular activities, and treat-or-treating. So, what's next? Mandatory SARS masks when we take public transportation? Will police officers charge people who shake hands? Will the government issue pamphlets on how to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze? Maybe we'll have to start wearing gloves like Michael Jackson…and people thought he was crazy.