Chicken Little Takes On A Whole New Meaning In The Face Of Avian Flu Threat
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve been hysterically paranoid about the looming avian flu pandemic for a couple months now. What took me over the line between vague interest and genuine fear on this issue was a single line I read in the Washington Post on July 31. The article noted there is an experimental vaccine to combat a deadly virus, but warned:
If the vaccine proved effective and every flu vaccine factory in the world started making it, the first doses would not be ready for four months. By then, the pathogen would probably be on every continent.I think that timeline assumes some basic level of efficiency in the production process but it seems that very little goes exactly right these days. And there is that “if” qualifier to put a little more fear into the equation. If July 31st was my tipping point, did the media, government and nation reach their own this week?
