This sounds a lot like the conclusions made in Albert Camus’ The Plague. I suspect that Camus had the same process that you had and thus decided to frame his brilliant novel in a conformist town struck by a strange disease that makes them consider their own mortality and the futility of life.

But life you Camus believed in the necessity of struggle as that was his ultimate philosophical goal.

But thats just a connection I made.

Not at all! those masks do nothing but keep YOUR germs from getting out, not THEIR germs from getting in. To stay healthy Wash your hands every chance you get stay away from close contact with people.

It would also be wise to invest in some REAL masks

The CDC says the bare minimum for masks to filter out the flu/swine flu is N95, but N100 would be even better however they are pricey I just ordered some N95's online at a good price: http://www.amazon.com/North-CFR-1-Dust-Mask-Filters/dp/B0001YX7E6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1241080835&sr=8-1

The lower is what is in most pandemic kits. but only because it has a user friendly manual. they are the exact same masks, filtration wise.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-8511-Particulate-Sanding-Respirator/dp/B0002YKBV2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1241080862&sr=8-1

Make sure the mask you get fits well and snug, if it doesn't then you might as well not wear it at all! think of it like a gas mask with a giant hole in the front! Here is a guide to fitting and testing : http://www.natlallergy.com/images/art/8233user.pdf

Try your local hardware store if you don't want to buy online,
The masks that you can use for the Swine flu are the N95, N99 and N100, if you were to walk into your local hardware store you would ask "where are your N95 respirator masks?" or "Where are your N99 respirator masks?" etc… there are lots of different brands but as long as its a N95, N99 or N100 you'll be fine. Some have valves on the front, those are just for letting the air you breath out go some where other than inside your mask. When the air goes inside your mask it tends to make it uncomfortably moist and disintegrate the mask faster, so for long term wear get one with a valve. Having a valve on it does not weaken the filtration one bit if you were wondering.

VACCINE: No for swine flu. An already formulated seasonal flu vaccine would not protect against the new strain, health officials have determined. That means a new vaccine has to be developed (require 5-6 months) that would, if used, either be added as an element to the current formulation or administered separately.

TRANSMISSION: Combining the following steps can help decrease the likelihood of transmission. These actions include : frequent hand-washing, covering coughs, having ill persons stay home, except to seek medical care, and minimize contact with others in the household. Additional measures that can limit transmission of a new influenza strain include voluntary home quarantine of members of households with confirmed or probable swine influenza cases, reduction of unnecessary social contacts, and avoidance whenever possible of crowded settings. If used correctly, face masks and respirators may help reduce the risk of getting influenza, but they should be used along with other preventive measures, such as avoiding close contact and maintaining good hand hygiene.

TREATMENT: The new flu and h1n1 in many cases can be effectively treated with antiviral drugs that serve as both a preventative and a treatment. Federal health officials for several years now have been stockpiling those prescription drugs, produced under the brand names Tamiflu, a capsule, and Relenza, which is inhaled.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Both of the things you mentioned are good ways to prevent contagious diseases (like swine flu), especially hand washing. Don't forget your thumbs when you wash your hands! That's the most common area to miss.
Also, avoid touching your nose and eyes unless you've washed your hands well. These are common routes that bacteria and viruses take to get in your body.
Keep your immune system healthy by eating well (fruits and vegetables), taking a multivitamin, getting enough sleep, and drinking plenty of water.

Oi you people need to get a lesson on how infectious disease works,

pig carries virus aka a vector… people living in close proximity to pigs pick up virus and becomes the new host and as people come into contact with one another the virus gets passed along. How did people in 3 unrelated countries get it, well they came into contact with the virus… its pretty simple and unfortunately pandemics are a natural occurrence…also flu viruses mutate all the time, the flu vaccine given each years is always based on the previous years strain which is usually not the same as the strain going around…

There's no chance in hell. Swine flu is very treatable, this is just a extreme overreaction from the media. You are 1000x times more likely to die from a common flu virus.
Extinction from disease is ultra rare in sexual species. Extinction from Nuclear holocaust or a meteor the size of Texas is much more likely.
With sexual reproduction comes intraspecies genetic diversity. There is bound to be some segment of the population that is resistant or immune to any disease that may come about.
For example, 10% of Caucasians are immune to HIV. I'm 99.99% sure there is a much larger portion of the population that is resistant if not immune to swine flu.

i read that, very interesting. but doublethink was a little different

Hmm…what CAN you do with a Poe Bust?
Take him to a pub…he may enjoy that….

Paper Towns was fucking amazing

I think the swine flu is just like a normal flu and its a huge politacal movement to try to up health care.

dude chill the heck out
i live in elyria ohio where that little boy lives
and i seem pretty fine….. for now……
and its closer to like 5 now
2 official in westlake
and 2 unofficial in amherst
an prolly more cause
a hospital in florida got caught trying to cover up a swine flu case
so thats most likly going on all over america….
if you want to avoid it do what im doing and….
stay out of crowdid areas (malls, theaters, trains,etc.)
stay innside unless you have to leave your house (work,school,groceries)
avoid unessesary contact with people (hugging Kissing)
wash hands often
dont eat with your hands
and use alot of hand sanitiser
hope i helped

I preferred Looking for Alaska.