Scared of swine flu

To me, disaster management was something in someone else’s backyard. It was a very distant thing that I strongly supported, but one that I never thought I’d actually need. Then came swine flu. I was feeding my baby banana yogurt with the evening news humming in the background when the news hit. The camera focused in on Mayor Bloomberg speaking at what looked to be an impromptu press conference and I tuned in. He announced — first in English, and then in Spanish — that three public schools in Queens were to be closed for one week due to the outbreak. (According to the CDC, New York state currently has 284 confirmed and probable cases of swine flu, or novel influenza A (H1N1) and one death.)cases A school closing may be a newsworthy and interesting item to anyone, but should you live in that borough, and I do, it’s quite scary. And while you might think since my son is not even a toddler and not yet school-aged I wouldn’t feel frightened, you weren’t with me yesterday at the pediatrician’s office after he spiked a 102-degree-fever. I’m grateful that this technology in place to alert health professionals of outbreaks of diseases, but will be even more so when my little one gets rid of his virus.