That flu was around for more than one season. For the first couple of seasons, it was pretty mild. Just an ordinary flu bug, except that it seemed to affect kids and young adults more than the elderly. Then flu season ended, and everything went back to normal... ****** ******** ********* ********** *********** ********** ********* ********** *********** ********* ********* ***** ********* Then it came back, with a vengeance. And it was nicely mutated into something so nasty that even if the same virus hit now it would have been pretty damned scary. Around the world, people were dying so fast that there was no way to stay ahead of it. See, that flu, version 2, caused an immune reaction that led to people literally drowning. Their lungs filled with fluid, and they died of pneumonia. Does any of this sound familiar? It should. ******* ******* ******* ********* ******** ********* ********* ******** ********* ******** ********* ******** ********* ********** Sure, there are better medical interventions now. Like the vaccine that no one can get. Like Tamiflu and other antivirals that can save lives and shorten the duration of the disease - if doctors can get hold of it. And should people end up flooding hospitals for treatment, there are a lot of new interventions that will save lives - if you can find a bed. Hospital capacity in North America is the lowest it's been in a century and a half. ******** ******* ********* ********** *********** ********** ********* ********** ******** ********* ******* ********** *** I think that we dismiss this at our peril. I think that not enough is being made of this artificial shortage of vaccines. We can't afford to listen to excuses any more.