Last weekend, I was at this mall but since it was before Thanksgiving, Santa was not yet there and no children were waiting to sit on his knee. But soon, thousands of children would line up to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. As we passed the tree and seat where Santa would sit, my mom shared with me something she had heard on the news earlier that morning. Due to the H1N1 epidemic, sitting on Santa's lap is not favorable this holiday season. Because his suit is not washed every day and Santas are in constant contact with children all throughout the holiday season, the spread of germs easier. This puts both Santas and visiting children at high risk for getting the virus.
I couldn't help but laugh. This is such an innocent tradition that many kids will be unable to partake in this year due to fear of the flu. But is this kind of alarm necessary? Do we have reason to be this worried? I understand that H1N1 is a highly contagious strain of the flu, but are we being overprotective and worrying too much?
1 comment:
I think this finding is a little bit ridiculous and ironic, that such an innocent and harmless holiday tradition could be endangered by swine flu. However strange this may seem, it is a legitamite concern, because no one wants to catch the infamous "swine". I also wonder who came up with this idea, because getting swine flue vaccinations for santa wouldn't be something I would think of. I found another recent article from the New Jersey newsroom (http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/healthquest/new-jersey-santas-concerned-about-catching-swine-flu)
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