It was a REALLY huge deal here in my city just because about 99% of the population is from Mexico, which can be seen from anywhere in the city, and I guess that's where people were saying it originated from? People were wearing masks out (not on my side of town, but on the side closer to Mexico) and at the store that I work at, ALL our hand sanitizer was bought out within a few hours! We had to rush order some more because people kept asking.
I have a kick ass immune system because I almost never get sick, but during this whole "epidemic" (is that the right word to use?) I actually got really sick, which is HIGHLY unusual for me. It didn't help that I'm exposed to about a billion germs a day at work, touching the merchandise & especially money.
Also, people who got tested for the Swine Flu weren't even allowed to go to school as they waited for their results (which took a week long) so, yeah, it was a big deal here, but I don't see why. I think we're over-exaggerating. -_-