Yes, I do realise that if I was being a good boy I would be living in daily fear that the Bird Flu pandemic is going to wipe out half the world's population.. Even the Newsletter runs a story letting us know that "Health chiefs" (Bureaucrats) in Northern Ireland are flying in tens of thousands of doses of a drug in the fight against bird flu. The anti-viral drugs will arrive in Ulster in the coming weeks as the Asian avian flu travels west, increasing fears it could reach pandemic proportions.
What really makes me feel a warm glow is the news that this anti-viral wonder drug will be reserved for Government lackeys and "key workers" aka the Public sector. The rest of us can just take our chances!! Listen, the W.H.O. has been hyping this pretend pandemic for months if not years. Of course it COULD happen - by the same token an Asteroid COULD hit Planet Earth and wipe us all out. What are we doing about that I'd like to know RIGHT NOW.
It strikes me that there are many vested interests in hyping this "Bird Flu" and you'd have to be a Bird brain to swallow it. Right, I'm off to KFC....
I think I'd like to see a list of those deemed worthy of a scarce tablet in Northern Ireland.
Posted by: iluvni | August 31, 2005 at 08:46 AM
The priority is to immunise doctors and nurses. Most would agree that it's common sense.
As to probabilities, it's a case of when we have the next flu pandemic, not if. We average one every 15 years or so, so an asteroid strike is a totally inappropriate comparison. The last real killer flu was in 1967 and the one in 1918-19 killed tens of millions world-wide.
Posted by: Peter | August 31, 2005 at 08:55 AM
iluvni,
I think that blog writers surely qualify as "essential" workers..and of course all ATW readers!
Posted by: David Vance | August 31, 2005 at 10:46 AM
The best prevention to catching this is to join the PSNI; they couldn't catch a cold, never mind the flu !
Posted by: FOOTIE | August 31, 2005 at 05:06 PM
I know - I feel that same way about the Smallpox vaccine. Only health workers and military and certain gov't. people are getting it. I guess it makes sense because there is a shortage of the vaccine. If it actually DID hit, the workers dealing with it would be protected and they could start shooting people up with the drug in a pinch. I don't like it though. I want that frigging shot!!
Posted by: Monica-Philadelphia | September 01, 2005 at 05:11 AM