1. This is the first and only article so far that says this may be not as bad as the normal flu. (Let's not forget the normal flu kills 36,000 a year, so even if this flu is half as bad, it will add another 18,000 deaths.) But maybe they are just now starting to get a handle on the situation, so maybe we will see more of this kind of article.
2. Although the people quoted have lofty-sounding titles, I'm still skeptical of their direct knowledge of this particular flu. The quoted Dr. Olsen works at a Vet Medicine school... he studies swine flu - in SWINE. What does he know about this four-pronged version that is circulating among humans? Does he know enough about this version to draw the conclusion he is drawing? Or is he, like many FReepers, simply blowing it off because there are “only 7 confirmed deaths.” ? I don't know, and the article doesn't answer my question. And I have the same question about the St. Jude doctor... what does he know about THIS virus?
3. If these two quoted doctors DO know as much as they imply that they know about this virus, how did they come to have this knowledge — are they actively involved in the case, or are they getting their info from news articles just like we are? If they are studying THIS virus, why doesn't the article say they are “with CDC and actively participating in the tracking and study of this virus” ? If they had direct knowledge, wouldn't the article say so? Or is the author of the article simply quoting a couple of people who happen to have lofty credentials, and who, like many FReepers, are not buying the whole hype of a possible Pandemic?
So yes, I'm with you -— who to believe? I'm still of the opinion that it's too early to tell what this thing will do. But it's better to be prepared and safe, than to be cavalier and sorry.
Doctors who have the opposite opinions have lofty sounding titles too and whose jobs may only tangenitally be researching viruses. Do we have the curriculum vitae for all the people who are throwing around the idea that this is 1918 all over again.
But I can say the doctors in this article are far more reliable than a friend of a friend.
Additionally, I have never suggested that people be cavalier or ignore what is going on. People should be listening but not spreading deliberately false or misleading information.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have read that “this is just like 1918” or “it’s going to come back in the fall”. We don’t know that yet and it can only be labeled “fear mongering”.