Swine Flu - A Nation In Crisis

Have we become a nation in constant crisis? It seems like we just go from one to another with the Swine Flu being the latest. Look at what's happening now? Schools closing, the vice president telling us to say home if we have the slightest symptoms, don't use public transportation or fly. On the news I heard of one school in Washington closing because a child there had a cough and a temperature. The conclusion made was that he "might" have the swine flu. Therefore, before the facts are in, close the school. Could it be he was just a typical kid with any number of "bugs" floating around inside of him? Why is this such a national story and why are so many people worried? I don't get it.
The United States has a population of over 300 million people. As of the writing of this, there were only 100 cases of Swine Flu. 100 out of 300 million. World wide there are only 497 confirmed cases and only 13 deaths. The population of the world is 6.7 billion.
Compare this to other illnesses. An estimated 600 people die of tuberculosis, about 1,400 people die from strep and 2,704 people die from a common asbestos-related lung cancer in the United States every year. Last year the seasonal flu took the lives of 83 children and an estimated 36,000 adults in the United States, according to the CDC. Were schools closing then? No. Why not? Where was the panic? Where was the news media?
So why the panic now? My feeling is this is created to take our eyes off the real problems facing the country. It is the old ignore the elephant in the room, let's deal with this small thing we have over here.
Yet, a crisis sells but who is the winner. It is definitely not the American public. I would be interested in who you think the winner on this latest "crisis" is. Any guesses on what the next crises will be?