Re: FluTrackers Confirmed U.S. Deaths - August 1+
hey Jim, thanks for catching my error with Florida, and MedTroll thanks for all the updates. It seems like Florida and California are experiencing an uptick in H1N1 fatalities, possibly a preview of what's in store for fall. I have to admit that I lack the intellectual stamina to keep up with the scale of what we're facing. And now that health officials have had all summer to practice obscuring and confusing the facts, I'm beginning to confuse myself trying to keep it all straight.
I initially joined FluTrackers and started this U.S. thread because I felt the information provided by public health officials on an emerging global pandemic was not adequate, and seemed geared toward fostering complacency and apathy in the public. I thought that access to better information would be the best way to motivate people to protect themselves and prepare for potential supply disruptions. But the people that were going to learn about H1N1 and prepare for the fall have done it by now, and for the rest.... I can only hope that the flu fizzles out and goes away, or that the available vaccines will be safe and effective. We are out of time. School is starting in a couple more weeks, and the wolf is at the door. Perhaps the time to prepare and learn has passed us by.
I can't speak for anyone else here, but I personally feel that I've done what good I could do with this project. If I gave up most of my summer to even help one person, it was enough. Continuing to track fatalities into the second wave is merely an academic exercise for me. If people haven't been convinced of the seriousness of this pandemic by now, then nothing I say or do here will make a difference for them. I know there are plenty of FT members who would disagree with that statement, and maybe you rightly feel that it is never too late to inform and help people. If there is anyone out there who wants to continue the U.S. count, you have my blessings to take the reins. No doubt there are plenty of forum members who could do a far better job with it than I have.
I feel very strongly that all of our hopes and fears about H1N1 will soon be resolved for better or worse. Either H1N1 is "just the flu" like we've been told all summer, or it isn't. If the future I am expecting comes to pass, people will not have to look to websites like ours to learn about flu. it will be right in their communities, schools, and homes all too soon. And prepared or not, this is going to be a difficult winter for all of us.
Joining FluTrackers and being a part of this project has been inspiring to say the least. I've gotten to know some wonderful, selfless people and have really developed a healthy respect for the amount of hard work and dedication involved in maintaining a website like this one. I have to hand it to you all, you've created an amazing and comprehensive resource for the public good, and I am proud to have participated in it.
Best of luck to everyone, stay safe this flu season.
Thank you Appleblossom, and everyone, for all that you have done.
We are tired. I know I am.
I think everyone should gear down in August. Take time off from posting. Enjoy the next few weeks before school starts. Take time for your family, friends. Read a book.
The work done here is done no where else in the world.
Not WHO.
Not the CDC.
Not anywhere.
Reliable and
public.
For our near ones.
For strangers we will never meet.
For many of us - we fell into this path. I know I did not plan to do this.
Somehow we were drawn by the need. The knowledge that if we do not do it - no one will. All of us - on all the flu forums. The small body of world scientists, scholars, moms and dads, public health authorities, health care workers who are spreading the word probably number less than a 1000.
Less than a 1000. Out of 6 + billion in the world.
A very profound and sobering realization.
It is this group that is responsible for all of the progress made to date.
Thank you to all - especially the families who generously contribute their loved one to this endeavor.
You are all humanitarians.
Thank you for taking a chance with us. For being part of the dream that regular people can make an impact.
That one person can really make a difference.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible."
T.E. Lawrence[/FONT]
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