Annpan wrote:Big Al, your scare-mongering doesn't help. You must be worried sick all the time, at the moment in Britain it would appear that swine flu is no more likely to kill you than falling down stairs or being in a traffic accident... do you also panic about stairs? and getting in a car or crossing the road?
I have known a few people now who have had swine flu (they were all high profile cases, it is a fact that they had it) They all said it was bad enough to take a day or 2 off work, made them sleepy and gave them the runs. They wouldn't have known it was anything special, a bit worse than a cold but not paralysing the way that the flu can be. But just like a cold to the wrong person, or the flu, or an infected cut or a bee sting - it can kill, but much more likely you'll just feel out of sorts for a few days.
And these 'underlying health issues' it isn't necessarily any of our business what they were, but I am sure we have all known an old person who has gone into hospital nearing the end, it is touch and go for a few days, then they get an infection (be it cold, flu, staff infection) and they don't make it. It doesn't mean that you or I are likely to drop down dead.
But also... people do die... you know that, right?
We live in one of the countries lucky enough to have a reliable health service, and the option to go private if you want. We have a good Military, Police, Fire service, Health Service, and Volunteer Core - that, should things really start to go mad (which I greatly doubt) we are still going to have food, water and essential health care... we have a long way to go before we are in a state of anarchy like you seem to suggest.
I can't and will never understand the mentality that makes someone want to outlive everyone else at any cost. Stockpiling supplies because sometimes you get snowed in or you don't have enough fuel to get to the shops every week is one thing... stockpiling because it might be the end of the world is quite another.
Ok,
I'll retreat.
I don't want to upset anymore people but in ending my imput a few observations if I may.
I don't panic about anything. I see or percieve a problem, I research that problem then come to a conclusion guided by many pieces of infomation so as for your examples of the stairs , I wouldn't walk down wet concrete stairs in the winter and I would look both ways for traffic or wear seatbelts in a car. If the car was being driven badly I'd get out etc.
From memory I don't think I have said I want to stockpile for all eternity, maybe I have given that perception I don't know but I can't afford to keep that amount of stockpile at present.
Just out of curiosity what happens to this great country of ours when so many of the police, fire, nhs and volly core go down with problems or when these great people won't go to work in case they get ill ?
Believe me this will happen. I'm on a few medical / security related boards and this is the underlying feeling of a lot of people not to mention the truck drivers delivering food, water workers maning the pumps, electric workers providing power etc ?
It was in the Indipendent on Saturday that schools could be closed for extra weeks after the summer holidays to combat the spread of any pandemic. What would the parents of these children do about childcare especially if they were in the police, fire, nhs etc delivery drivers etc? If they left them alone as "responsible young people" do you think they would stay in house quarentine or have a few friends over to play?
I've got over my initial worries somewhat but why are the government pushing ahead with the introduction of the vaccine before trials have been completed. Trials of between 200 and 400 "live " tests on people will not be completed before the first traunch of vaccines are wheeled out to the "at risk" catagories... so in essence you have a test study of up to 400 people to test that the vaccine will be safe for over 60m people but it will ALSO be issued before the trial is complete?
I feel confident at that ..... don't you?
Please look for this info yourself and don't think I'm scaremongering because I'm not, I am concerned, greatly, but each to their own I feel now.
Also has anyone studied the 1976 pandemic vaccine in america which is the same strain as we are using now ? Of course the modern practices are much better now aren't they? Oh I forgot the medical proffessors are now coming out on the news warning of "possible side effects".
And don't forget that in the race to produce the vaccine in suitable quantities they are adding chemicals to "make it go further" [ not my words either].
Not to mention the effects of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome which is a very big possabillity being a side effect of this vaccine.....
Again People die, Hell I might even die one day, Micheal jackson said he would live to atleast 150.... but I hope, for now I will not be dieing
but for every person like me who [probably] has too much time on their hands / too much pain to do meaningful tasks there will be probably 100,000 who think like you annpan and that's ok.
Without wishing to be rude people like you think the state will support you and do all you need, provide good sources of food, water and opportunity when in reality, I fear they will do nothing of the sort.
Hopefully it will not be bad in the coming months and I'll be big enough to take the "I told you so " comments but that way we will be ok. If I am able to say " I told YOU so" then we will be well and truly in the doo doo..
Even more crazy was 
