The President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology just released a report saying that up to 90,000 Americans may die from bacon flu this winter. And if that’s not horrible enough, the report predicts that as many as half of all Americans may get it, with up to 300,000 (including the fatalities, one supposes) requiring intensive care.
My guess is that these numbers are deliberately set high, and are based on the assumption that bacon flu won’t mutate significantly. But if we get an especially deadly mutation—and, remember, the virus hopped to turkeys last week—we’re likely to wish we had only 90,000 deaths.
In any event, compare 90,000 to the almost 3000 killed on 9/11, and remember that animal agribusiness is completely to blame for this gargantuan risk to the public health. As always, they’ll be let off the hook, paying nothing for the lives lost, or even the massive hospital bills. Link.
