Avian Flu
Heading off a pandemic.
'œSometimes a president's summer reading can change lives,' said The Philadelphia Inquirer in an editorial. Back in August, George W. Bush picked up The Great Influenza, John M. Barry's eye-opening look at the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which killed at least 50 million worldwide. 'œThe narrative jolted him into action.' Last week, Bush announced a national strategy to combat the avian flu, which has killed 60 people and now threatens to spread around the globe. The proposal calls for $7.1 billion in preparation and prevention, mainly to develop vaccines and stockpile anti-flu drugs. Critics have 'œdetected a whiff of desperation' in the president's announcement, said the Los Angeles Times in an editorial. Not only is his administration late in recognizing the very real risk of a bird flu pandemic, he seems overeager to show some leadership at a time when public confidence in him is plummeting. At least, though, he's got a plan.
Unfortunately, said The Boston Globe in an editorial, 'œNew Orleans had a plan too.' Bush's bird flu blueprint says virtually nothing about how we'd actually mobilize federal and state health-care agencies to combat an outbreak. Other nations already have detailed, step-by-step plans in place, should the deadly bird flu mutate and enter the human population. If 'œa viral Katrina' hits the U.S. in the next year, it will be New Orleans all over again—but with a death toll in the hundreds of thousands, instead of the hundreds.
Cory Franklin
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Robert Weinstein
Chicago Tribune
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US Published
-
George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grills
Feature He helped define boxing’s golden era
By The Week US Published