Note: Save My Sanity is an occasional feature in which I examine a recent "scare story" and determine whether I need to be concerned or not.

Last week, a White House panel released a report estimating that 30 percent to half of the population could catch the 2009 H1N1 flu, and 30,000 to 90,000 could die from it.

Experts from the CDC immediately began trying to quell the panic. A Time.com article quoted Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as saying: "Everything we've seen in the U.S. and everything we've seen around the world suggests we won't see that kind of number if the virus doesn't change."

But parents are still nervous.

In my circle, it's a hot topic as families gear up for the start of school next week. A friend of mine whose husband is a pediatrician plans to keep her kids home from school if the virus begins to peak before the vaccinations are ready in October. Not that she is worried about the kids dying — she just doesn't want the inconvenience and lost productivity due to the flu running through her household.

I'll probably follow suit. Maybe we can homeschool our kids while they're in quarantine.

In case you missed it, Ann Arbor.com ran a story over the weekend detailing what local schools and the University of Michigan are doing to prepare for a surge in swine flu cases. It seems that many of the measures — isolating sick students, asking parents to keep sick children home from school — should be in place anyway, whether it's swine flu or regular old influenza.

To stay calm as a parent, I'm reminding myself that normally healthy children over age 2 aren't considered high risk for swine flu complications. So all we can do is take the necessary precautions, like those from WebMD listed below, get our flu shots when they're available, and hope for good health.

The first part of the plan is to avoid infection:

• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Use soap and warm water when available; use hand sanitizer between hand washings.
• Avoid close contact with sick people. Close contact means getting within 6 feet of a sick person. If you must care for someone who is ill, minimize close contact.
• It's not known whether face masks protect against infection. If you use one, don't slack off on hand washing or avoiding close contact with sick people. Use the face mask properly and throw it away after use.
• Get your seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible. It's safe, and it protects against the three seasonal flu bugs expected to circulate this fall and winter -- even though it won't protect against H1N1 swine flu.

The second part of the plan is to keep from spreading the swine flu virus:

• Stay home if you are sick.
• Observe flu etiquette. Don't cough or sneeze into your hands. Cough/sneeze into a tissue -- or, failing that, your elbow.
• If you can do so comfortably, wear a face mask if you come into contact with others.
• If you are an employer, do not penalize workers for staying home if sick or for caring for sick children.
• Make plans -- now -- for what you'd do if you or your children get sick this fall.

Jen Eyer is on the Community Team at AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at 734-623-2577 or jeneyer@annarbor.com, or you can visit her at the first floor office at 301 East Liberty.