Fear has been a political toy in this election year. Politicians in both parties have used fear to fan flaming rhetoric.
Now the government is battling fear, but the plea may sound empty to many ears.
An assistant secretary for aging told Florida elderly not to worry about the flu: "There's no reason to be alarmed. There are plenty of vaccines on their way." (New York Times, 10/24.)
One state health official is quoted by the Times saying, "I can't say 'Don't worry, this will be O.K.' because I'm not sure it will be."
Posted by schwitz at October 25, 2004 03:21 PMWhere in the world are those vaccines that are "on their way" coming from?
We're advised not to buy drugs in Canada or elswhere. "Too dangerous." We can't buy flu vaccine from a dirty factory in England. "Too dangerous."
Now, Rod Blagojevich, governor of Illinois, says he's found 30,000 doses of flu vaccine at $7 per dose through "European wholesalers." Are these guys dangerous? How will we know?
Lucky the CDC is going to give the governor a hand with this one. Lester Crawford, acting head there, said, "We'll be happy to follow up on it."
I hate to be cynical about this, but does anyone else feel a little confused?
What's safe? What should we be afraid of?
Posted by: Marilyn Meinke-Murphy at October 26, 2004 02:28 PM