"I've never seen it like this," a besieged doctor's office administrator in suburban Atlanta told USA Today. "That name, H1N1, sends parents into a panic." There's been "a lot of verbal abuse" from patients who can't get the vaccine, she added.
Sasha and Malia Obama got their flu shots from a White House doctor, and in an unscientific survey of our readers, 55 percent said the first daughters got special treatment.
In another poll, 86 percent said it was wrong to give high-risk prison inmates flu shots before the general public.
H1N1 flu fear is changing our behavior -- individually and collectively.
Employers are lifting sick-day limits, and airlines are waiving rebooking fees to persuade infected people to stay home, according to USA Today.
Hundreds of flu-stricken schools have closed, even though the federal government has said that such shutdowns should be the last resort to stop the spread of the virus. Some schools have scrapped perfect attendance awards for this year to keep ambitious-but-ailing kids out of classrooms.
Even in a war zone, troops are defending against the H1N1 virus. The military is strictly enforcing hand-washing orders at bases in Afghanistan. "In 30 years of covering wars, I've never seen anything like it," wrote Politics Daily's David Wood.
Some Christian churches have stopped using a common cup for Communion and asked worshippers not to hug or shake hands in the traditional "sign of peace." Saudi Arabia and the World Health Organization have urged Muslims who are at high risk for the flu to skip next month's hajj -- the annual pilgrimage that draws millions to Mecca.
Even baseball isn't safe. Greg Dobbs of the Philadelphia Phillies missed Thursday night's World Series game because he has the flu. The team sent him home so he wouldn't infect the other players.
Some people might be thinking of throwing "swine flu parties" to ward off the virus. The theory is that exposure to the disease will boost immunity. Such parties may be just urban legend, NPR reported, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people against them.
Another federal agency, the Government Accountability Office, warned this week that Internet service could bog down if there's a surge of sick workers and students logging on from home.
Officials are pumping out information about swine flu, hoping to avert public panic, but mindful that more information can lead to more anxiety. The news media have hyped the story and fed the panic, Lee Siegel charged in The Daily Beast. But hysteria is a time-honored American tradition, he added. "Routine panics" are a hallmark of a democratic society and the more open we are, the more vulnerable we feel, Siegel said.
So embrace the panic, America. Just don't RSVP to that swine flu party invitation.
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