Good morning! Brett and I will be switching off Morning News for awhile.
So! A huge ice shelf is breaking up in Antarctica, the economy did even worse than expected in the first quarter of the year, and President Obama gave an important press conference marking his first 100 days in office.
But you don’t care, do you? You just want to know about swine flu.
Yeah, me too. The World Health Organization raised the threat level to 5 for the first time, well, ever, signaling that a pandemic is imminent. A little kid just shy of his second birthday was the first confirmed US death. Schools across the country are closing to stop the spread of the disease.
Screw the masks we’re all supposed to be thinking about; I want a paper bag I can breathe into when the panic begins to overwhelm, thanks.
Let me just repeat the important stuff, though: Wash your hands, wash your kid’s hands, don’t for the love of God go anywhere when you’re sick (or send your kid to school or playdates if they are), and see your doctor as quickly as you can if you do start to feel flulike symptoms. There are antivirals that help lessen the severity and duration of the illness: Tamiflu can be used for children ages one and up, and Relenza can be used for kids age five and up. The key is you’ve got to get them quickly, within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. The FDA has approved ememrgency off-label uses of the drugs during the swine flu crisis.
Moving on to more cheery topics, the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica is breaking up and falling into the ocean. The shelf, in the western part of the Antarctic Peninsula, has remained stable for most of the last century, but lost two huge chunks on Friday and is due to lose a chunk bigger than Rhode Island soon. Researchers believe the cause likely is global warming, although they stress they are still working to prove that.
Also shrinking is the US economy, which contracted at a 6.1 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year. That’s worse than the 5 percent economists predicted. The first quarter 2009 drop in gross domestic product, which is the total US output of goods and services followed a 6.3 percent drop in the last quarter of 2008.
But the president gave a press conference. He’s reassured us that the government has this flu thing under control, that we’ve ended torture as an interrogation technique because we’re just better than that, and that the federal budget (which newly minted Dem Arlen Specter helped get passed) will help revive and restructure our economy. Here’s a transcript if you missed it.
I tried to find something for you guys that would not make you want to go back to bed and pull the covers over your head (seriously, I Googled “puppies”) but no luck so far. See ya in the hand-sanitzer aisle!
