<p>They’re saying that kids who were vaccinated for meningitis before age 15 should get a booster when they go off to college. I never heard that before.</p>
<p>How awful for the girl’s family.</p>
<p>Tatin, frugaldoctor reported on the other thread that he’s in Dallas and the place is bustling.</p>
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<p>I do. My observations are only that of one. As far as LOCAL activity is concerned, (not addressing conventions or business or tourist stuff), we are all going about our lives as normal. Why wouldn’t we? The only people who have shown up with the disease as yet are two nurses who were up to their eyeballs in infected body fluids. Our hearts are broken for them, and even if we get on the bandwagon of daily recriminations of the ER staff who sent him home, it hasn’t affected the personal circumstances of people far removed from the PHD and staff.Quite frankly, the people of Dallas have seemed to be far less prone to ridiculous hysteria as some of the other areas of our country.</p>
<p>Summery of Ebola Hysteria Syndrome. </p>
<p><a href=“Tampa-bound flight held in Charlotte as Ebola fears sweep country”>http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2014/10/18/tampa_bound_flight_d.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/17/us/ebola-provocative-quotes/index.html?hpt=hp_t1”>http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/17/us/ebola-provocative-quotes/index.html?hpt=hp_t1</a></p>
<p>CNN’s coverage of the hysteria and its impact.</p>
<p>It is out of control. This one was one of the worst:</p>
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<p>The hysteria is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. It would help a lot if the media would try to shine light on the facts rather than stir it up.</p>
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<p>The irony. It hurts.
CNN is one of the two worst offenders. You can’t go to their website without seeing EBOLA take up half the page for some non-story. </p>
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<p>Particularly because as we’re heading into the flu season we’re going to see a lot more people exhibiting flu-like symptoms. If anything good comes out of the ebola scare it may be that more people will get their flu shots.</p>
<p>That’s what I’ve been thinking, too.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to ask my dr about the meningitis booster.
That is one of my big fears about D going to college.</p>
<p>Please do, scholarme. </p>
<p>After watching my father battle meningitis twice, I am a big pusher of the vaccine. I <em>believe</em> the current recommendation is to get the booster before college if you had the original shot more than 5 years before. I could be wrong about that. </p>
<p>That “summery” of hysteria didn’t quite hit its mark. Ebola or not, anyone vomiting on public transportation is a thread. The only thing that was truly “hysteria” was the Facebook thing. The rest indicate attempts to deal with a strange and unusual situation. In my area, which would have been one place where hysteria could be warranted, there has been nothing but calm because, among other things, public and private institutions locally have long had a relationship of trust with the whole community and as soon as Ebola became an issue last spring, information and resources were put into place. If there is hysteria anywhere, it reflects more on the failure of the bureaucratic state than on the existence of ignorant rubes.</p>
<p>I was in Manhattan on and after 9/11. The national narrative now says that there was calm and fortitude after the attacks. That is both true and not true. In the early days, traffic, transportation and subways were stopped for things like someone putting down a package on the street to get something out of his pocket. Bridges and tunnels were closed based on rumors. This was a regular occurrence for a while and did not reflect hysteria, it reflected a totally human attempt to get a handle on a new reality. Same here with Ebola. People, both privately and professionally are trying to do the best they can in an unfamiliar situation. Personally, I think that pointing the finger, being on a mission to uncover it where it might not be and screeching HYSTERIA are, in fact, forms of hysteria all by themselves.</p>
<p>Also, the media needs a story. If the disease isn’t spreading, then manufacturing hysteria is a good second choice.</p>
<p>Good point about post 9/11, zoosermom. I remember the mall getting evacuated one time because someone had forgotten their bookbag. Overreaction? Maybe, but then we did eventually get the Boston bombers.</p>
<p>I recall my son getting another meningitis shot (maybe it was a booster) before college. He had his first shot when it became mandatory to attend his sleep away camp. I think he was 10 or so at the time. </p>
<p>What has me worried is that the cases showing up on college campuses now are not covered by the approved vaccine in the US. They had to get approval from the FDA to bring in vaccine from out of the country last year when there was an outbreak at Princeton. </p>
<p>zooser, the San Diego college freakout was hysteria at its finest. Now, because someone flew “through the midwest” and came down with flu symptoms IN FLU SEASON dozens of people need to go into lockdown? Really? Not every flight in or out of the midwest goes through Cleveland. It’s not even a major hub. And people vomit on planes all the time. Only now are we starting to collectively panic.</p>
<p>And the Maine school teacher. If that is not hysteria, I don’t know what is. </p>
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<p>There’s a reason why airsickness bags are available on planes. That reason is not Ebola.</p>
<p>The last time D1 flew, she got sick and had to hold tight onto an air sickness bag. She held on, raced off the plane, trying to get to a restroom. She didn’t make it, but still had her bag in her hand. She remembers people walking by her as she got sick, saying, “Yikes. Poor kid.” </p>
<p>If that happened today, you can imagine what would happen, especially if she mentioned she had just come from Dallas.</p>
<p>If only they would find Malaysian Air flight 370 . . . wishful thinking I suppose. CNN loves a good plane story. :-S </p>
<p>^^ I think it must have something to do with CNN being the channel all the airport tvs are tuned to. Why is that?</p>