The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a new video on health fraud awareness. A worthy topic. It touches on weight loss products, HIV scams, cures for cancer and diabetes. What's noteworthy about the video is that it's SO boring. The inflections of the voiceover are totally inauthentic. It has the pacing of a 1970s newscast. There's almost no music. It's not sufficiently interesting to grab and hold anyone's attention.

News - and not just TV news -- has become infotainment. I would be the first to complain that this is a tragedy with major implications. But it's also a reality. To compete for attention, you need some creativity. The chances that this video had any input from a decent ad agency are slim.

Christopher Beam, writing on Slate, points out that opposition to vaccines unites both ends of the political spectrum. "Swine flu may have an unexpected side effect: political unity. The far left and far right agree that they're sure as heck not getting vaccinated against swine flu."

The far right objects to the vaccine because it comes from the government. The sentiment is not limited to US citizens. I found this comment from an Israeli in response to an article in the UK's Daily Mail:

"I find it very interesting that the vaccine does the opposite of what its supposed to do. Is any one open to the thought that this is intentional? That the people in power are using this is a means for population control? And the fact that governments are in the process of making this vaccine MANDATORY??"

Thermerosal

Opposition on the left comes from doctors, lawyers, and celebrities. Jim Carrey promotes the claim that vaccines cause autism. The usual culprit is mercury in the preservative thermerosal. Note that a definitive study (PDF) published last week finds that children with autism have the same levels of mercury in their blood as "typically developing" children. The study found that children who chew gum have higher levels of mercury.

The questions raised by Dr. Mercola about swine flu vaccinations - such as, Are you willing to let the government experiment on your child? - are simply inflammatory and self-serving.

There are some legitimate questions, however. For example: Where is the vaccine manufactured?

The current supply of H1N1 flu vaccine comes from US and European manufacturers. For what it's worth, these manufacturers are approved by the FDA. I add that caveat only because the FDA has limited capabilities, as we've seen with recent episodes of food poisoning.

Since an adequate supply of the vaccine is now a problem, it's reasonable to ask if the roster of suppliers will expand. Two manufacturers in China are now licensed to produce the vaccine. It may not happen during the current flu season, but how long will it be before vaccines manufactured in Asia are shipped to the US?

A chiropractor for whom I have considerable respect - she's a scientist, formerly an aeronautical engineer - is handing out copies of an article by Dr. Mercola that recommends against the swine flu vaccine. Another chiropractor told me she knew of no one in her profession who would receive, or allow their children to receive, vaccinations of any sort. She promptly added that, being "only" a chiropractor, she couldn't legally make such a recommendation anyway.

Is the safety of vaccines merely a difference of opinion? Everything I've read on the scientific evidence for vaccine side-effects - which is the primary grounds for opposition - favors vaccination.

Most people would prefer to wash their hands in comfortably warm water. And it's usually available. The scientific question remains, however: Is warm or hot water more effective than cold if we want to prevent spreading the flu?

The FDA's position has been that water hot enough to kill bacteria would be too hot for hand washing. Still, they maintained, warm water is more effective than cold because it removes oil from our hands. And there can be bacteria in that oil.

There are a number of things about the H1N1 (swine) flu that are different from the seasonal flu we see each year. For example, adolescents are at a greater risk of dying than younger children. This is just the opposite of what we typically expect. In a normal flu season, at least half the deaths are among children younger than 5. With swine flu, 80% of deaths have occurred in children ages 5 to 18.

Normally, flu fatalities are higher among older adults, but that's not true for swine flu. Three out of five deaths have happened in people younger than 50. "Sophisticated" laboratory tests indicate that the immune systems of older adults are providing an unusual amount of protection against the swine flu virus. This suggests that adults over 50 were exposed to an ancestor of the H1N1 virus - probably when they were children - and their immune systems are now prepared to defend against related strains.

Here's a well-written story by a mother (Brigid Schulte) whose son caught the flu at summer camp. She ended up nursing a houseful of sick patients, including herself. Everyone survived, but it was no picnic.

The subtitle of the article is "During the Swine Flu Season, Think Before You Share a Drink With Someone." She had innocently offered her water glass to her thirsty son the day before he started showing symptoms.

What with the start of school, the flu season may already be here. Washington State University has already reported over 2000 students with flu symptoms.

Public health officials recommend staying three to five feet away from anyone who coughs or sneezes. Also from anyone who might be infected. But how do we know if someone is carrying the flu if they're not yet showing symptoms? Are we to stop shaking hands with business colleagues and giving hugs to arriving friends?

Goodness! I've been sneezing into my elbow and didn't realize it was socially unacceptable.

It makes so much sense. You should never sneeze into your hands unless you can wash them without first touching something. Handkerchiefs collect germs and tissues should be used only once.

This first video is from the CDC and makes a good lesson for kids.

When you breathe recirculated airplane air, do you expose yourself to the coughs and sneezes of everyone onboard?

Well, not quite everyone. Most airlines do not circulate air along the length of the cabin, allowing it to interact with every passenger. Air is circulated from side to side in discrete sections of the plane. The passengers you're most exposed to are those sitting near you, which would be true even if the air wasn't recirculated.

A review of research, published in The Lancet, concluded that the chances of contracting an air-borne disease increase when you sit no more than two rows away from an already-infected passenger. This assumes an eight-hour flight. More recent evidence suggests the safety margin is more like seven rows on a three-hour flight. This risk is not unique to airplanes, of course. It applies to any confined public space, such as a classroom.

Some parents in the UK are discussing the idea of swine flu parties for their children. British parents have long held "chicken pox parties" at the beginning of summer. The idea is that it's better for children to catch this once-in-a-lifetime disease at an age when there should be few complications.

The reasoning with swine flu is to give your child immunity now, while the virus is still mild. The UK's National Health Service is preparing for 100,000 new cases a day by winter. Presumably supplies of Tamiflu will be lower at that time, and hospital space may be at a premium.

Newsweek has a feature where you can compete for the best six-word tweet on the cover story. The winners for the swine flu cover story: "Over estimated, over reported, over it" and "Blah, blah, swine flu, blah, blah."

The public health establishments, such as the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, have disseminated a great deal of information on what they want the public to know and how they want us to behave. But what goes on backstage, behind the public front? For example, what are doctors being advised, and what are they saying to each other about the current flu epidemic? They're on the front lines. Are they worried or optimistic?