Looks like the avian flu
chicken littles may have to find something new to freak out about. All the gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair over a theoretical pandemic has been stopped, once again, by science and the brilliance of mankind:
Avian Flu Vaccine Called Effective in Humans
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 - Government scientists say they have successfully tested in people a vaccine that they believe can protect against the strain of avian influenza that is spreading in birds through Asia and Russia.
Health officials have been racing to develop a vaccine because they worry that if that strain mutated and combined with a human influenza virus to create a new virus, it could spread rapidly through the world. (The vaccine cannot lead to such a situation because it is made from killed virus.)
...
"It's good news," Dr. Fauci said. "We have a vaccine.
Time to find something else to freak out about, I guess. It begs the question, why are so many diaries in these parts so quick to jump to pessimism and not to optimism? May have something to do with why the average voter does not like to self-identify as liberal.