The Bird Flu
Now, I am not saying that they shouldn’t be working on medecine and stuff like that, but this whole BIRD FLU PANDEMIC (YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE) coverage on the news is really overdone. I don’t want to be labeled a callous asshole here, but there are 12 people diagnosed with Bird Flu in Indonesia. That creates the total of 68 people worldwide since 2003.
I am not saying that we should UNDER-react and not work on diagnosing this thing, creating medecines, etc, I am just tired of people over-reacting. The news in this country has had Bird Flu on the tips of their tongues for months now with very little statistical information about the flu. I hazard to say that maybe they are just afraid that US News audiences wouldn’t take their reports seriously if they knew that the number of people infected worldwide was barely more than half a hundred.
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8 Responses to “The Bird Flu”
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Don’t worry, it’s all being taken care of by our government. Now that birds officially hate freedom they are part of the axis of evil.
The Filtering Doctrine: If it doesn’t kill at least 100 people, it’s not news.
I just don’t like the scare tactics. By the way, how many people have died from lightning strikes since 2003?
Sorry, I need something to be nervous about to maintain balance in my life. And as long as the terror threat stays relatively low, I don’t have any airplane trips scheduled, and I keep surviving layoffs at work, bird flu is it. I fall into a high-risk group (”hyper-paranoid asthmatics”), and this is one more thing the Bushies are dropping the ball on, so it’s a natural fit.
Craig,
I totally disagree with you here. First, there are plenty of ways to mock the media’s over-coverage of things, but a possible pandemic is not one of them. Bitch about the 75 straight days that Natalie Holloway or Michael Jackson are the lead story, not this.
A few months ago, the total number of people infected was 4, now its 58. It only takes one mutation and a lack of disease control and there could be a real problem. They dont even have enough flu-mist in this country. Imagine what would happen if this shit ever became contagious from person to person. Seriously, do you really trust Vietnam or Laos to keep tabs on their sick people.
In this case, the numbers are frightening and do have meaning. A hell of alot more than what the average shopper “plans” to spend for the holidays, which was one of the leads on every major channel.
Chris D.
PS. How can Bush drop the ball on an outbreak that is yet to occur?
Hey Chris, how are you sleeping at night with that person to person nightmare SARS still around?
I kind of feel like this is the hurricane we know is coming - you have to prepare now, or entire cities could be destroyed (okay, maybe not entire cities, but a lot of people - especially the really old, really young, and infirm, all of which make for great headlines). The government should just be doing SOMETHING, is all I’m saying, and I don’t see/hear about them doing much at all to prevent or prepare for a pandemic.
from the seattle times:
“The Bush administration wants $7.1 billion to stockpile antiviral drugs and vaccine and invest in research for speedier production of a flu vaccine. Roughly $250 million is sought for prevention and detection anyplace in the world.”
Even this article (click on my name), critical of the response time, says we are doing a whole lot of helpful things today.
Maybe they are too busy trying to scare you to tell you what is being done?