Panic by Canadians Caused by Incompetent Government

Carolyn Bennett spoke in London Ontario, where a baby died recently of H1N1. This government simply did not do it's job, and it has created panic and uncertainty.

But what has really made me angry was a column in the Kingston Whig Standard, by Michael Den Tandt. I'm responding with a letter to the editor, and I hope they print it.

Adults have little reason to worry

Canadians are a stoic bunch, right? It's because of our harsh weather and pioneer roots. When the going gets tough, we grit our teeth and trudge on without complaint.

Hooey.

Canadians, it seems, are really best at whining and complaining. We have an unparalleled ability to feel aggrieved. We are a nation of victims. Funny this, since our country is among the wealthiest and healthiest on Earth.

Take, for example, the current brouhaha over the H1N1 vaccine.

During the summer, the web and coffee shops were rife with dark predictions. The vaccine was a plot by big pharma to enslave us. It was poison. It was designed not to prevent the flu, but to spread it.

Conspiracy theories were everywhere and they made a significant dent, according to early polls, in prospects for full vaccination. Now suddenly the flu is upon us and many people are sick. A number of people have died -- a statistically very low number, given the extent of the contagion.

But this, combined with saturation media coverage, has created a general state of fear.

So there isn't enough vaccine to meet demand. Some clinics have been chaotic. Some professional sports teams, God forbid, got their vaccines early. Queue jumpers! Stone them! Is any of this for real?

This "pandemic" is a really bad cold. It's a fever and chills and maybe nausea and a nasty cough, which lasts for a few days, maybe a week. Then it goes away.

With proper care -- take your vitamins, wash your hands -- you can avoid catching it altogether.
The Calgary Flames, the Leafs, the Raptors, apparently got their shots early.

So? Doesn't this make sense for team athletes who are in habitual close contact with each other and who work in large crowded spaces?

Folks, take a pill. That would be an Aspirin. Or take two. Then call your doctor in the morning. Or don't. Either way, you'll be fine.

You have a greater chance of being hit by a car on the way to the emergency department than you do of dying of H1N1

My Letter to the Editor

I was taken aback by the recent column by Michael Den Tandt 'Adults Have Little Reason to Worry'.

Den Tandt's medical degree aside, I found the entire column rather absurd. As our Auditor General recently stated, this government is ill prepared to handle an emergency. For weeks they told us to get the H1N1 vaccine and then announced that there would not be enough to go around. That is what created the panic.

And with all due respect, while I have no problem with NHL teams being vaccinated, hockey players are not the only ones "in habitual close contact with each other and who work in large crowded spaces?"

But the clincher was his suggestion that "You have a greater chance of being hit by a car on the way to the emergency department than you do of dying of H1N1."

I would suspect that there are more cars on the road than there are people with H1N1 who would cough in your face. And it's highly unlikely that if you were hit by car, that car would turn around and hit everyone you'd been in contact with.

So wash your hands, cough into your sleeve and look both ways before you cross the road. Oh, and another thing. Never take medical advice from Michael Den Tandt.