Who wants to raise their hand?

Any of you want to be a guinea pig in the war against bird flu?

According to this article, human tests are beginning
in the United States on a bird flu vaccine.

bird flu vaccine testing

If you want to be one of the volunteers, I salute your
humanitarianism -- it's not for me, thanks.

1. Current bird flu virus is not going to cause a
pandemic. The pandemic will happen when it mutates
or combines with an ordinary flu virus to create
a bird flu that's not only highly lethal, but also
highly contagious.

Therefore, the virus that all of us who are not
raising or selling chickens must be concerned
with is not going to be the exact one this
vaccine will protect you against.

2. Vaccines have no power in themselves. Many people
forget that or don't realize how they work.

The vaccine in your veins does NOT fight the bird
flu for you.

All it does it teach your own immune system how to
fight a virus so that if and when you are exposed
to the "real thing," your immune system can
immedately start killing the viruses.

If your immune system is weak, no vaccine in the
world can help it defend you.

Therefore, the stronger you make your immune
system, the more protection from bird flu you'll
enjoy, whether you take a vaccine or not.

3. These tests are going to continue for 8 months.

Mass vaccine production cannot proceed until
the vaccine is approved for human use.

Mass production just of the amount of ordinary flu
vaccines Americans take every fall takes 6-8
months.

In a pandemic, we'll need many more.

Therefore, if you're counting on this vaccine to
save you, you're assuming that H5N1 is going to
wait at least 14 months to cause the pandemic.

So my advice still stands -- do everything
you can NOW to strengthen your own immune
system.

Details at:

How to Protect Yourself
and Your Loved Ones From Bird Flu