Thursday, October 14, 2004

flu season is almost here

In case you haven't been paying attention to the news, prepare to get the flu this year. The supply of flu vaccine was cut almost in half when Chiron Corp., one of the US's two suppliers for the vaccine, recalled all 48 MILLION doses it was supposed to supply the US with, due to possible bacterial contamination.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/10/12/flu.vac.cnn/

That's 48 million Americans who won't get the vaccination this year. Hell, there's a good chance not everybody who's at high risk for complications (like oh, say, death) will be able to get it, much less the average relatively healthy person. If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing the flu, count your blessings.

Oh, how to tell the difference between a cold and the flu?
Cold: Sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough. Ya know, I don't feel so great.
The Flu: Hack, wheeze, hack, wheeze. Somebody, please shoot me now.

1 comment:

Mira said...

Update from the field -

My mother, mid-west field reporter near a major metro area, said this morning that her mother's physician's office was turning away people on portable oxygen because they're already out of the vaccine. She was also unable to locate any clinics in the area that still had the vaccine in the area.

This is going to be one suck-ass winter.

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