Does standing in line provide immunity?
Sometimes, the rush to adapt new technologies leads to comedy. This evening, our local news station (yes, CBC) presented a bulletin on the outbreak of H1N1 (lead story, day after day) in a local school. The public has a right to know, and TV requires visual content. Skip sending the film crew down to the bottom of the hill; we’ll use that newfangled Google Streetview to show where we’re talking about.
Watching a cursor zoom in and out on the windows and doors of the school building was certain innovative. Ineffective, also.
Now that the number of infected (infectious) patients has climbed, people have started to realize that the “largest vaccination campaign in Canadian history” might actually have merit. Politicians have jumped into the fray, taking their rightful place at the front of the line. And there’s the rub; the city has also decided to opt for consolidation in choosing the number of sites. We will witness the inoculations spread out over close to two months, because there will be FOUR centres for SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND people.
So, sixty days of lines that will surpass Boxing Day madness. Eight weeks where those who want to receive “a fighting chance” against what could be a serious infection will stand, elbow to elbow with thousands of other potential carriers, for hours. I’m a fan of logistics, and this cries out for an “injection”.
Tomorrow, I have to drop into the local hospital for an eye examination. Given the protocols that are already in place following the scare over SARS a year or two back, I figure they have things well in hand. I just wish I felt more immune to the germ of the year.
