Washington DC — The death toll from the Cape Town flu continues to climb. In an unconfirmed report, the estimated death toll from this deadly virus has reached 20,000. The number of cases has climbed to an estimated 250,000 worldwide with cases being reported in almost every major country. The first cases have now been reported in Los Angeles and New York.
The House and Senate are meeting to pass emergency legislation authorizing funds for vaccine research. The expectations are……..
Atlanta, Georgia — The CDC has confirmed reports of the first cases of Cape Town flu within the United States. “We have eight confirmed cases within Los Angeles and ten within New York,” reports Dr. Wendy Johnson of the CDC. “We expect this number to rise over the next few days and weeks.”
The CDC reports the symptoms to look for with the Cape Town virus are nausea, headache, sore throat, and fever. “What really makes this one different is the extremely high fever associated with the Cape Town flu,” said Dr. Johnson. “We have reported temperatures reaching 104 degrees which puts us into a danger zone. If you have any of these symptoms, please report them to your nearest medical facility at the first sign.”
I really have to stop reading this stuff, I thought noticing Lynn had come online. We talk about it some but are both under the impression that there is a fair share of media hype involved. Yes, we both think the numbers are pretty high and it is perhaps fairly dangerous if your immune system is not up to par. She even told me there are a few people in her unit and other surrounding units that are getting sick. She has even had to pull extra shifts to cover those sick. More of an annoyance than any fear.
Washington DC — Both the House and Senate passed an emergency funding bill authorizing vaccine research for the deadly Cape Town virus that has truly reached pandemic proportions. The bill authorizes government health officials to use every means at their disposal to find a remedy to this threat.
Federal government health organizations have formed a coalition with 7 major worldwide pharmaceutical corporations to combine efforts in order to…….
Oh boy! Here we go!
Washington DC — Federal health officials issued a statement today that, with the combined efforts of the world’s major pharmaceutical corporations and government experts, that a viable vaccine has been discovered to combat the Cape Town flu virus.
“With over 100,000 confirmed deaths worldwide, and, with an estimation of that many deaths within the United States alone, this couldn’t come soon enough,” said Senator Jesse McCaffery in a statement issued by his office.
FDA approval of this vaccine within days is expected as this vaccine is expedited through the approval process…… the military will be the first to receive this vaccine with it becoming available to the general public as soon as 24 hours later. Special clinics and locations are now set up in locations around the world and are now only awaiting the FDA approval and arrival of the vaccine. A list of facilities can be found in your area at http://……….
I am not taking this when it comes around, I think reading the story in a fit of boredom. I have not had a flu shot, well, since the Air Force and I don’t plan on taking this one. The flu shots I have had generally made me sicker than the actual flu itself so, no flu shot for me.
These are the last thoughts I have before succumbing to sleep. I find myself lying in a boat on the water, drifting slowly in the lake. The boat rocks gently as I stare up at the blue sky above. The sun shines on my face, its warmth caressing me. The boat is not rocking in a constant motion but more in sporadic waves. A rocking, then nothing, then another after a moment. I stare into the blue sky to see an eagle soaring above me. I hear its screech as it rides the winds. It wheels and circles back around dropping lower until its shadow is large across me, blotting out the sun as it passes between it and me. Calling out as it passes by.
“Dad,” it calls out. “Dad.” What the fuck, I think starting to sit up in the boat. I open my eyes to Robert gently shaking my shoulder and his flashlight staring straight into my eyes. “Dad,” he softly whispers once more.
“Yeah, I’m up,” I reply back.
“It’s two,” he says removing the light from my eyes.
“Okay. Anything going on?” I whisper taking a moment to adjust to waking up. The radiant light from his flashlight illuminates the room slightly showing lumps on the floor around me like tiny hills.
“No. It’s been completely quiet.”
“Okay, I’m good. Get some sleep,” I tell him climbing out of my sleeping bag, grabbing my own flashlight, and sliding my Beretta into my holster. I inch along the floor on my butt to the wall, dragging my sleeping bag with, and drape the bag over my legs. It is a little chilly in the room after the warmth of being in the bag.
Robert climbs into his bag and his light goes off. Everything is completely dark and I am not even sure I have my eyes open. I blink to make sure and things slowly become a lighter shade of darkness. The soft breathing of everyone sleeping come to my ears in the darkness. Robert moves in the gray darkness, adjusts the bag and drifts off. I remember the times when it was just him and I on our weekends and we would talk the night away about some story or another once the lights were out. We would probably be doing just that right now, talking about the day’s events, if it weren’t for the exhaustion that those events brought about. My mind drifts to Lynn, hoping she is truly okay, wanting to be there now, to what the future may hold, to the peacefulness of the dream, and once again to the beginning of all of this…..
Washington DC — The Food and Drug Administration reports approval of the Cape Town flu vaccine. In a statement issued by the administration, the armed forces will be receiving the first vaccinations within the next 24 to 48 hours. Vaccinations will be available to the general public within 48 hours. Local flu shot locations can be found at http://…….
“This is a worldwide effort and vaccinations will be delivered to all world countries at the same time it becomes available to the general public here in the United States,” reported a spokeswoman for the FDA.
With the death tolls reported to reach over 200,000 and over one million confirmed cases worldwide, the lines at flu shot locations are expected to be long as fear of the virus spreads. “We have produced enough vaccine to inoculate approximately 75% of the world population with more being produced daily,” The FDA reports. “This is due to the world governments and major pharmaceutical corporations focusing their efforts the production of the Cape Town vaccine.
I am so not going to ‘get my flu shot’ nor stand in line to do so. I don’t usually find myself in groups of people so I am not overly worried about getting the flu. I avoided all of the other ones to date and was sure I will not be getting this one either. More than likely, this will become old news once the vaccine has been distributed. I talked to Lynn that night, asking if she knew when she was getting hers. She mentioned they were required to get theirs within 48 hours of deliverance, the first of which were expected to be the next morning. She also mentioned there were an increasing number of people going to sick call, to the point she had to fill in double shifts and no longer had her usual day off. ‘Well, that sucks,’ I told her at the time. ‘That means we won’t have our usual long skype session.’