Bracing for Bird Flu

When the Senate voted last week to add $4 billion to a defense-spending bill to prepare for a bird-flu epidemic, three-fourths of the money was earmarked for Tamiflu and other antiviral medications. But a dilemma looms. It's difficult to predict when--or if--the current strain of the virus, which is known to have killed just 60 people worldwide, will mutate into something more easily spread among humans. Makers of flu vaccines can't simultaneously produce both bird-flu and regular-flu varieties in sufficient quantity. Shift gears too early, and it could be a false alarm, and millions of Americans who get the normal flu vaccine every year would have to go without, probably resulting in thousands of preventable deaths. Shift gears too late, and there would be no time to produce enough vaccine before the bird flu hit, potentially killing millions. Both before and right after his August vacation, President Bush was briefed on the situation. Says the Administration's vaccine chief, Dr. Bruce Gellin: "It's a very tough call." --By Viveca Novak