pandemic flu

With the White House Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimating that this winter's swine flu outbreak could lead to 30,000 to 90,000 deaths in the US (on top of the usual 30,000 deaths that occur from seasonal flu), the government has ramped up its effort to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against H1N1. In fact, the vaccination effort is so large, it may constitute the largest vaccination program in human history.

The Hajj, a journey to Mecca that retraces the steps of Mohammed, is one of the religious pillars of Islam. Pilgrims making the Hajj are the primary reason why Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most visited tourist spots. Like a religious version of Orlando, Mecca and Medina draw about three million visitors every year, from every country in the world.

Unfortunately, the date for this year's Hajj, November 25th to the 29th, falls right smack dab in the middle of flu season, and Muslim countries from Morocco to Indonesia have begun wrestling with the problem of religious duty in a swine-flu world.

After yesterday's announcements by the World Health Organization, calling swine flu "unstoppable" and noting that there might not be enough vaccine produced by the time flu season rolls around, the debate began over what to do with the small amount of H1N1 vaccine that will be produced this year.

Like many of the working stiffs in New York City, I spend most of my day bathing in recirculated air in my large Manhattan office building, breathing in a thousand other peoples' germs. And let me tell you: When the first New Yorker is diagnosed with H5N1 bird flu, my apartment is going to become the PopSci Brooklyn satellite office, and anyone who wants to get in is going to have to wear a hazmat suit. I'll probably have to leave the house sometimes to pick up FRESЖA ingredients and beef jerky, and when I do, I will most likely sport a Fashion Flu Mask. (Even in a pandemic, that's how I roll.) These tarted-up respiratory protectors ($10 each) are modified N95-approved masks, the only ones the CDC recognizes as doing any good to protect against pandemic flu. Their designs are a little girlie, but I've e-mailed the company requesting a carbon-fiber-look variant. Hopefully it'll be ready by the time the flu kicks off. —Joe Brown