"Influenza experts agree that there will be another global epidemic of influenza—an act of natural biological terrorism. The problem is no one can predict when it will happen—but that it will happen."

On February 25, 1999, the CDC broadcast via satellite a two-hour program that cites the imminent inevitability of another influenza pandemic. "Preparing for the Next Influenza Pandemic" may be borrowed from your local health district as a videotape.

The CDC predicts that 400,000 Americans may die and that government agencies and health professionals must develop comprehensive plans to care for the sick people, inoculate well people and govern the entire country during the declared state of emergency. "Influenza experts agree there will be another global epidemic of influenza -- an act of natural biological terrorism. The problem is that no one can predict when it will happen...but it will happen," said program host William Atkinson, MD, MPH, of the National Vaccination Program.

Atkinson stated that, "We hope that this program will be the catalyst...in the process of pandemic influenza preparedness."

The program, which can be obtained as a videotape from your local health department, described the nature of influenza and why in the U.S. "200 million could be effected...50 million people could require outpatient care...two million people could be hospitalized... and 400,000 people could die."

Using graphic language and photographs from the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 which, according to the CDC, originated at Fort Riley, Kansas, and ultimately killed 20 million people world wide, the program supported the inevitability of a pandemic by describing "the three influenza pandemics that have occurred in this century" (1918-1919, 1957-1958, 1968-1969).

The details of how local governments, under the guidance of the federal government, will legally and logistically orchestrate pandemic preparedness during the declared states of emergency that will arise from a flu epidemic, are contained in the Federal Guidebook to Pandemic Preparedness. As yet the guidebook, which began to take shape in 1973 under order of President Ford in response to the swine flu epidemic, is still in draft form.

An antigen "shift" is the formation of a brand new virus where "thousands, or even millions of deaths could result," explained Atkinson.

According to the CDC, "depending upon the recipient [of the vaccine] and the similarity of the vaccine to the circulating virus...if there is a good match," the effectiveness of the vaccine is 70 percent to 90 percent in healthy, younger people.

The CDC said that flu vaccines are only 30 percent to 40 percent effective in older people but that they "may" lessen the impact of flu symptoms.

According to the CDC, the duration of the protection one receives from the flu vaccine is only one year.

"It is only a matter of time before an avian flu virus—most likely H5N1— acquires the ability to be transmitted from human-to-human, sparking the outbreak of human pandemic influenza. We don’t know when this will happen. But we do know it will happen."

Dr. Peter Patriarca of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) described how the production of sufficient flu vaccine is a year-long ordeal that calls for intense consultation and total cooperation between FDA and CDC officials and executives from unnamed vaccine manufacturers.

Patriarca then narrates a fascinating journey into the production of adequate vaccine supplies. According to Patriarca, five million chickens are ordered a year in advance so that, upon maturity, the chickens will produce 500,000 embryonized eggs each day. Each egg will produce one to three "trivalent" influenza vaccine doses each. It is also hoped that the 90 million eggs will be inoculated with a flu strain that will combat the predicted influenza variety.

The chicken eggs incubate the vaccine until it is sucked into vials which will eventually be distributed to public health departments and private practices. The vaccines are tested in lots by injecting sheep with samples. The purity of the lot is measured by the level of reactivity in resultant sheep pus to a scientifically constant "reagent."

Through the writings of Shakespeare and others, we are told that Dark Ages medicinal therapies demanded concoctions that were made from eye of newt, spleen of bat and other strange and chemically inappropriate ingredients. As described by the FDA in the CDC program, influenza vaccines, administered to millions of Americans each year, are made from viruses, chicken embryos (and adjuvants such as mercury, formaldehyde and aluminum).

How are flu vaccines in 1999 different than Dark Ages potions except that the potions were drunk and vaccines are commonly injected hypodermically?

The coming plague, "...will probably spread quickly around the world" and there will be "little warning," cautioned Atkinson.

The CDC predicts that there will not be enough vaccine to go around. "High priority groups must be identifiable in case of a vaccine shortage," said Atkinson.

The CDC lists as priorities: 1) Health care workers 2) community safety and security personnel 3) Essential community services personnel. Then listed are people over 65 years of age, babies, residents of long term care facilities (retirement homes, prisons, mental hospitals) and people who are in contact with high risk persons (see 1 and 2).

Healthy children and young people are at the bottom of the priority list of vaccine recipients.

In response to the CDC prediction that there will not be enough vaccine to go around, the Clinton administration is, according to the CDC, studying the fiscal and strategic necessity of federally stockpiling antiviral agents.

During the second week of Oct., 2008, the University of Indiana School of Medicine sponsored a three-part lecture series on pandemic preparedness entitled, "Not If, But When: Preparing for Pandemic." Part 3 discussed how our everyday lives will be affected by school closures, prohibited public gatherings, suspension of commerce and loved ones dying in our homes.

"How will we cope? Will state and local governments help us manage?"