Saturday, December 13, 2003

Running Scared

As the flu grips the nation this year people appear to be panicking and throwing out accusations left and right as for who is to blame. This story though really takes the cake in my opinion. To blame President bush for the lack of flu vaccine is ludicrous.
“The determination of supply is a market issue” says Bill Pierce, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, “The companies and manufacturers determine how much supply to produce."
The only reason there is a supply shortage is that people are panicking over the outbreak and people who normally don’t get a flu shot are trying to get one.

I get a flu shot every year and when I get it they tell me it will take a month before full immunity kicks in, so what good is it going to do to get a flu shot if the outbreak is all ready rampant? To top it all off , as this story reports, the vaccine for this year does not cover the flu variant that is causing all the trouble so the effectiveness of the vaccine that people are panicking over is unknown. So with these two strikes against the vaccine is it really worth it? It seems to me like taking sensible and reasonable precautions to avoid catching it is the best that we can do instead of running around like a chicken with their head cut off trying to blame somebody.

I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as a part of life, specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back, turn back, you’ll die if you venture too far. Erica Jong