For those of you who just emerged from the rock you’ve lived under for the last couple of years, there’s a really bad flu going around and it’s all anyone can talk about. No, I’m not trying to make light of the Swine Flu. Anytime someone dies of a sudden sickness, it’s extremely sad and tragic; but it can be argued that the attention this strain of influenza is receiving needs to be put into perspective.  

I tend to agree with Marcus Gee of the Globe and Mail, “The much-publicized death of a healthy adolescent [Evan Frustaglio] set off a wave of fear about H1N1 and sent people rushing to vaccination clinics.” What his article also points out is that there are bigger threats to people’s health than this flu. 

Here’s some stats provided by the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) that put the H1N1’s effect on the health of British Columbian’s in perspective:

Over the last seven months (April 09- Nov 04, 2009), there have been 199 hospitalizations and 15 deaths in BC due to H1N1 virus. (BCCDC). In the same time period  there will be about 17,000 hospitalizations and over 750 deaths due to preventable injuries in BC (BCIPRU). 

So now you have the numbers. H1N1 has the nation mobilized against it. As for the fight to prevent needless injuries, let’s just say we’re still in the recruitment stages. So what I’m curious to figure out is, what will it take for preventable injuries to be taken more seriously by average Canadians?