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I am Carina Morente of Year III – St. Paul.

So much has been said about A(H1N1). This has been discussed for the umpteenth time and the last thing I want to do is talk about more statistics, tips, and symptoms. We have had enough of that. Today, I want to talk about the pandemic.

The mere utterance of the word “pandemic” creates fear and terror – it brings to mind images of poxes and plagues, divine wrath and curses. Actually, the World Health Organization tells us that all the term suggests is geography – the growing reach of a teeny tiny virus around the globe.

Okay, so they say it’s only a matter of geography. Well, I think it’s a little more than just that.

It bothers me that in this time of cutting edge technology and medicine, a little virus still manages to intimidate the WHO, enough to delay the declaration of a pandemic. Until the very last moment, they had difficulty accepting the extent of the spread.

The WHO warned everybody that there was a high probability that this Mexican virus would mutate into a stronger strain which led people into the state of alarm. It bothers me that people remain paranoid even if WHO’s prediction turned 180 degrees. We’ve been told that Dengue and the regular influenza viruses are deadlier than their Mexican kin. It seems to me the strain became milder instead of stronger, and it bothers me that people still continue to panic.

It bothers me that there is now a new strain of the virus in Brazil…I can almost see the little microbes evil LOL-ing and planning to rule the world. I’m sure more doomsday scenarios are playing in the minds of the panic-stricken.

It bothers me that we are running out of flu vaccines for people who really need it – the old and weak. These vaccines do not even prevent the A(H1N1) and may actually build resistance to drugs that treat the infections with this virus. There is no vaccine for the swine flu and no cure. From my understanding, it simply has to run its course.

But then, I’m not a doctor and I don’t even dream of being one. But all the things the doctors tell me don’t really help much. The statistics, the tips, and the symptoms just sound like another flu to me. So this alarm – really bothers me.