Krug: 
Flu bug has us all on edge

Comments (...)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

We know what happens when it is suggested that now is no time to panic.

Panic! Panic! Panic! Everyone P-A-N-I-C-S!

Let’s learn a lesson from Kevin Bacon’s character in “Animal House.” As Chip Diller, Bacon simply tried to reassure those watching the parade in the quaint town of Faber that all was well, asking for calm. Quite literally, Diller was embedded in the pavement. He was a weasel and probably deserved it.

At the risk of becoming fused into a sidewalk, let me take up the mantle from the man whose surname is derived from the fine part of the swine and offer a few words on a virus that has virtually nothing to do with pork.

Relax, folks. Now is no time to panic. Really.

There is no reason to flip out over the H1N1 virus. Yes, the president declared H1N1 a national emergency Friday night. So much for keeping the calm.

The vast majority of people who contract H1N1 will recover without a problem. If you get H1N1, you will be out of commission for a period of time, because this is a nasty form of influenza. However, this isn’t the reincarnation of the black plague.

Interestingly, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show that people 65 and older seem to have some pre-existing immunity to the H1N1 virus. About 78 percent of those Americans hospitalized for H1N1 were 49 or younger.

Most healthy people, ages 2 to 49, can be immunized through the nasal vaccine, which has yet to be widely distributed.

People with weakened immune systems, those suffering with chronic health problems (seriously, the CDC has a list of a few dozen conditions that preclude a person from being immunized) and women who are pregnant should not have the nasal spray. Most of these people, however, would be able to be immunized by a shot (again, there are a few dozen exclusions – so the shot isn’t for everybody).

Best bet: Check with your doctor.

Supplies for both the spray and the shot are lagging behind demand right now, so keep an eye on the Northwest Herald.

We’ll let you know where and when the shots are available as that information becomes known.

• • •

Do your part: For years – perhaps from the first moment I saw a sign in a restaurant restroom that reminded workers to wash their hands before returning to the job – I have been awestruck that people need to be prompted to practice basic sanitary tenets.

But if a reminder helps, great. So how about we read the sign, follow the directions, and simply commit to washing our hands? Seems pretty easy.

Step 1: Relieve yourself.

Step 2: Wash your hands for at least 30 seconds (if you are not wearing a watch, sing the alphabet song). Then dry off your hands.

Step 3: Return to your designated work area, and don’t sneeze on anyone.

Sneezers, grab a Kleenex or some other such disposable facial tissue. Don’t honk your beak into your hand. If you do sneeze into your hand, follow Steps 2 and 3. Feel free to clip and save.

And if you don’t feel well, stay home. Watch Oprah, The Golf Channel or sleep – whatever you want to do. Just don’t come back and sneeze on me.

• • •

Beat the big scare: Nearly 1,000 kids and staff from nearby St. Charles East High School reported last week that they had flu-like symptoms and stayed home, prompting the school to cancel classes for the balance of the week.

I hate to sound cynical, but I freely admit that I am a Class A skeptic and have no choice but to wonder how many really were sick and how many thought that taking a day off sounded like a good idea. I also wonder whether Timmy’s mom and dad talked to Jimmy’s mom and dad who talked to Kimmy’s mom and dad and decided that the whole school was sick, and called in their little urchin.

Regardless, so many of them took one day off that it prompted the school to give the entire school a few days off.

Somewhere, Ferris Bueller salutes you.

• • •

Get well soon: There is no question that some people are feeling ill these days. Now is not the time to be a hero and fight through it. If you don’t feel well and are exhibiting symptoms consistent with the flu, call your doctor or walk into one of the oodles of clinics in and around McHenry County.

Don’t clog up the local emergency room with a case of the sniffles. People actually use the ER for emergencies now and again.

Chances are, you won’t contract the H1N1 virus. And if you are unfortunate enough to get it, you should pull through with only the typical discomfort that we associate with the flu. Ride it out; you should be fine.

If we all do our part, perhaps none of us will have to deal with it.

Fat chance, but let’s give it a shot.

• • •

Appropriate adjustments: McHenry County College’s Promise program has struggled out of the gate and, as you probably know, recently was suspended only one semester into its existence.

The best chance for it to return and eventually thrive was for the MCC Foundation Board’s Promise Committee to radically make over the program, and it appears that those with the power to make change have responded with sound ideas.

Students already in the program will be granted a maximum of 12 credit hours in future semesters – down from 15. The minimum grade-point average gradually increases from 2.0 this semester to 3.0 by the spring of 2011. Each student will have to double up the number of community-service hours initially pledged, from 16 to 32 each semester.

However, the most significant change was in how the credit hours would be funded. No longer a pure grant program, students would have to pay up front for the semester. Upon successful completion of the aforementioned criteria, the Promise program would reimburse students.

Upping the ante with the cashola might help ensure that the guidelines are more closely followed. It all makes sense.

Now we have to figure out a way to get the funding flowing again so other kids can take their turns.

• • •

And finally … : Great to see Douglas Oberhelman get the nod to take over next summer as CEO of Caterpillar Inc. The 56-year-old Woodstock native worked his way up through the ranks of the company in a 34-year career with the Peoria-based heavy manufacturer. Oberhelman still has family and friends in the area.

Call me sentimental, but it always brings a smile to my face when I see someone local achieve something of this magnitude.

Congrats, Doug.

• Chris Krug is executive editor of the Northwest Herald. Contact Chris by calling 815-459-4122 or via e-mail at ckrug@nwherald.com. Keep up with Chris’ rants, raves and insights by following ChrisKrug (no space) at Twitter.com.

Comments