So much vaccine, so little anthrax

[kelley]

At 09:08 AM 10/15/01 -0500, Lou Paulsen wrote:
>  A comrade of mine who works in a hospital and who knows about this
>stuff told me about how an X-ray technician, normally quite intelligent,
>came in wearing rubber gloves "to protect himself from the anthrax."  "I
>watched him and he was touching everything in the office, then touching his
>face, his forehead... 'I hope you're changing gloves between patients,' I
>said. 'Uh, yeah, sure..' "

this is typical, hyperactive fears or not. people are not trained 
especially well proper glove use. intelligence has little to do with it. 
and even professional knowledge doesn't always help: nurses, for instance, 
are one of the biggest offenders when it comes to not washing after using 
the restroom.

thanks for the synopsis of what i've heard on CNN though.

that we can treat the few anthrax cases with this ineffective method of 
distribution means nothing. the fear has to do with coming smack up against 
how advanced technologies and a complex division of labor means that we're 
vulnerable to attacks that exploit weaknesses in such a system. people are 
feeling out of control.

to quote someone else with a wicked sense of humor:

"I have the faint hope that the spew of idiocy witnessed here and
elsewhere over the last 24 hours is a wholesome sign that brains are
being cleared.  Faint.  OK, you've all had a near-life experience, and a
psychic enema.  I expect a mess on the floor in consequence. It may
even be healthy."