by J P Whitney
“H1N1 yes. It’s early in the flu season but 100 million doses have already been produced for the US.”
“That’s a start. How long for the remaining vaccines?”
“Another 2 months.”
“And what about the other virus … H5N1?”
“H5N1 infection is much rarer as it’s typically limited to birds. So we’re less prepared with only 2 million doses on hand … and those are reserved for mission-critical personnel. But we’ve stockpiled antigens to produce 26 million vaccines once a pandemic is declared. Unfortunately, that would take 4 months and it’s obviously nowhere near enough. But sir, one key learning from the Spanish flu was health officials acted too slowly. It spread so wide because they didn’t realize what they were dealing with or how deadly it was, so more civilians were exposed than necessary. I believe we need to be transparent with the public if we're going to have any chance of limiting the spread of the virus.”
“Transparency could be good. It enables us to control the narrative which in turn could minimize public panic. But you’ll need months to produce the vaccines, how do you propose we pull that off?”
“This won’t be a popular decision, sir. My recommendation is to isolate everyone. That means home quarantines.”
Finally. The conversation was headed in the right direction. Time to make this official.
“Ruth, I don’t think you realize the full impact of what you’re suggesting. Our economy would come to a screeching halt. A total collapse of the stock market …”
“Mr. Vice President, I’m way out of my league here but is it possible to put the stock market on hold indefinitely until we’ve dealt with the health crisis?”
“But home quarantines? That’d be a monumental undertaking.”
“100% fatality rates thus far and over 300 million lives at stake. Sir, I know these are extreme measures but we’ve never faced anything like this before. This plan gives us time to manufacture the vaccines and complete our lab tests without risk of spreading the disease.”
“So in 2 months, we could have enough typical flu shots for all the US. Regardless if H1N1 is the killer or just the trigger, is it possible this year’s flu shots could effectively stop the spread of Blue?”
“If H1N1 is the trigger, the flu shot would guard against its infection. So, yes, it's possible.” She hoped she wasn’t overreacting with this recommendation but she also didn’t want to be responsible for so many lives if she didn’t act strongly enough
“There’s another unexpected benefit of your plan. If we recommend home quarantines, other countries will follow suit. And if people are at home, do you know where they aren’t?” Shepard asked cryptically.
“Sir?”
“They won’t be dropping bombs. And they won’t be on the battlefield. Ruth, you might have just saved the world twice over. Once from this disease and once from each other.” He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.
“It’s time to declare pandemic and vaccinate everyone. You are approved to move forward with the production of both vaccines. I’ll make sure the budget is allocated. But I’m going to need you in DC for planning and briefing the President if we’re going to be transparent with the public as you recommended.”
“Sir, I think I’d be more valuable here in Atlanta … identifying the source, overseeing the tests …”
“Deputy Director, this isn’t open for discussion. As you said, people can work from home. You can also work remotely with your teams at the CDC. But I’m going to need you here.”
Chapter 5
State of Emergency
The Oval Office
Washington D.C.
30 June 2021 - 4:01 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT:
A little over a century ago, we faced one of the deadliest times in human history. Up to 40 million people were wounded or killed in World War I. But even more devastating were the lives lost to an especially lethal form of influenza that emerged amidst the chaos of global conflict. Not understanding what they were dealing with, officials of the early 20th century acted too slowly. And with troop movements, the virus spread globally and caused more casualties than all the military conflicts combined. I’m referring to the Spanish flu of 1918 which claimed 700,000 American lives and more than 50 million worldwide.
Today, we face a similar enemy. The influenza outbreak of 2021, the Blue flu as some are calling it, is now classified as a pandemic and has already claimed 100,000 lives here in the US and up to 500,000 globally.
Because this illness has struck so early in the typical flu season, some would have you believe this is an act of bioterrorism. But these claims of an intentional act are nothing more than myth and irresponsible fear-mongering. What could possibly be gained by unleashing a disease which is a clear and present danger to every single person in every country around the globe?
Let me assure you, this is mother nature’s doing, not that of the human race. But we can’t afford to let her win this time. Not when our very existence is at risk.
So, what are we doing to combat it?
Our best scientists, doctors, and laboratories are adding their considerable resources to the teams at the World Health Organization and the CDC. Collectively, they are racing to find a cure and making great progress. But it will take time to develop and manufacture vaccines in sufficient quantities to reverse the spread of the virus and stop it dead in its tracks.
In the meantime, we know the Blue flu has an H1N1 component to it. And although current flu shots aren’t an effective treatment once someone becomes infected, health officials believe it is our best safeguard against contracting the virus in the first place. And whether this is the return of the Spanish flu or some entirely new strain of influenza, it’s how we respond to this lethal virus that matters most.
Therefore, I‘m declaring a State of Emergency in the United States of American and calling on each and every one of you to help keep us safe.
Never has an American President had to issue orders of this magnitude. Through an initial stage of isolation, we will reduce the spread of the disease, and provide our medical community the time required to manufacture enough vaccines for the entire US population. Though this has already hit all of us in immeasurable ways, I'm confident that within two months the State of Emergency will be lifted.
Before I continue, let me make one point very clear. This is NOT the time to panic. Instead, this is the time to be patient, determined, and to come together as one great American community and support one another as we implement the following plan.
First, I'm issuing orders for home quarantines to begin within 48 hours. While this may sound like an extreme measure, it is only temporary, and we’re going to make sure this is as easy on you as possible. In fact, I want you to take an all-expenses-paid vacation on the US government! I’m not kidding! We are going to cover all your expenses until this is over. All I need you to do is stay put until we give the all-clear signal!
Mortgages, leases, and loans are frozen until further notice.
We have also issued orders with utility companies, hospitals, and grocers at a state level to make sure you have what you need during this time of quarantine. Water, electricity, natural gas, cellular and internet services will remain on and bumped to the highest level of service free of charge. And to reduce your exposure to the virus, local authorities will deliver food, medicine, and other supplies to your homes.
911 service will remain active, and you are encouraged to use it during emergencies. While hospitals will remain open they should only be reached by ambulance to maintain the quarantine. We pray no one in your family contracts the virus. But if they do, wash your hands and face, and put on a mask. Then isolate the infected family member in a room and call 911. This is the best plan for keeping your family healthy.
Also effective immediately, US borders are closed with the exception of American citizens returning home from overseas. Domestic travel will also be restricted once the quarantine is in
effect. For businesses and schools that support it, I highly recommend working from home and online education until everyone is vaccinated at which point some local travel will once again be permitted.
Second, I'm making the Flu shot mandatory for everyone in the US and I call on the global community to do the same. To ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to support home quarantines, our top priority will be vaccinating active service members, mission-critical government positions, healthcare workers, law enforcement, fire services, and our local logistics partners. Next, we’ll distribute flu shots to citizens. Once vaccinated, you will receive a bracelet like the one I’m wearing today. It includes your name, social security number, DOB, and vaccination date. Once received, this is your pass to go about your business as usual.
Which brings us to point number three. How will all of this be implemented? We’ve set up a website to register your family for supply drops and vaccinations. I need the head of each household to go to www.stopblue.gov today and register your family. Information from your latest tax form will be used to determine the size of your family and thus the number of supplies allocated to each home. Please verify the address and family members listed for accuracy. Further instructions will be posted online and texted to your cell phones as part of the Emergency Broadcast System at the conclusion of this announcement.
In closing, I’m counting on your strength and courage to weather this storm.
Register at stopblue.gov
Stay home with your loved ones until we give the ‘all’s clear’.
Get your vaccinations and bracelets
Before you know it, this will all be over and we’ll have stories to tell grandchildren for generations to come.
Today, I give you my pledge. We WILL come out of this ordeal stronger as individuals and families. And we’ll prevail not only as Americans but as humans!
God bless you all and God bless America.
Chapter 6
Signs
The damp air of the early morning drizzle mixed with the unseasonably cool July temperature and condensed into a nearly opaque fog which partially obscured the homeless man at the corner of 4th and Madison. The tattered, stained rags hanging from his hunched body were on the verge of either disintegration or spontaneous combustion. His long matted hair and bushy beard had long ago fused into one massive dreadlock which framed his deeply tanned face. A look more caveman than modern human. His bright brown eyes the only visual clue that he wasn’t just another wino struggling to survive. Instead of the glassy, shifting, or pleading gaze of others on the street, his was piercing, intelligent, and expectant.
However, it was his sign that really set him apart from the army of homeless that frequented downtown Portland. It wasn’t the stereotypical grubby cardboard folded many times and scribbled on with desperate words begging for spare change. In stark contrast, his sign was an almost surreal brilliant beacon of white in the mist. And the smell of the Expo dry-erase marker he’d used to print the crisp block letters still hung in the air.
Eli had become a regular fixture at Johnnie’s newsstand near the Chapman Square Park he now called home on most evenings when the weather cooperated. The sign of the day followed his normal modus operandi of scanning the headlines on display at Johnnie’s Newsstand and distilling them down to the juiciest details. Physical Clickbate, she called them. His signature ‘What’s Trending’ and ‘Words of Wisdom’ served as free advertisement for what he judged as the top story found at the stand. And more often than not, this resulted in him getting tips from both the patrons and the owner of the newsstand herself when business was good.
Today, the top half of the sign read, What's Trending: State of Emergency as Blue claims 100,000.
The bottom half, Words of Wisdom: Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don't, you'll spread the disease.
Eli’s sign also featured an unanticipated element this morning. A Bible quote. Strange because he never resorted to the clichéd approach of guilting people out of money by quoting verses. Even more baffling was that he couldn’t remember writing it.
'Even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.'
- Daniel 12:4
Over the past several weeks he’d been plagued by dreams of words and phrases he’d never read and places he’d never visited or even recognized. These episodes were becoming more frequent and felt alarmingly real. He didn't know where his knowledge came from but it was too detailed to be merely dismissed as dreams. And his brain was on fire. Bubbling with these random thoughts and images.
The quote didn’t even seem relevant to the What’s Trending headline. It was still quite early, maybe he had nodded off and someone else had written on his board as a practical joke? But a quick scan of the area only confirmed he was alone save for Johnnie who was enmeshed in setting up the stand. Pulling pranks wasn’t her style anyway. Who was he trying to fool? He still held the dry-erase marker, cap neatly tucked into the end, and his small Bible lay open to the book of Daniel.
Then, like a tidal wave crashing into the coastline, the waking dream came flooding back and it was all he could do to keep from hyperventilating.
Eli had recently learned the only way to find relief, shortlived though it may be, was to purge the thoughts by downloading them into his journal. So instead of scrutinizing the origins of the enigmatic message any longer, he put pencil to paper and let the words flow.
7/1/21
I have a little bird
named Enza.
I opened the door
and in-flu-enza.
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
The children cried out in horror. Among the desks and papers, several witnessed the carnage left in the wake of the virus. The gurgling. The slowly spreading pool of blood. The boy’s blue face. The sudden death.
"Oh my God. I'm losing it", Eli groaned out loud. Where did these words come from? Yes, he read the Bible, but he didn't focus on the Book of Revelation. It always seemed a little too final and doomsday for his liking. He preferred the Book of Matthew and the hopeful words Jesus shared for the common people. ‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth’ and all that. But trying to fight the relentless intensity of the daydream was pointless. He had to continue to download else his mind would overload and maybe he really would go crazy. He tried to calm himself with a deep breath and let his hand go on autopilot. Without thinking, only writing, even more seemingly disconnected thoughts spilled onto the pages of his journal.
Lethal but no bacterial infections detected. No link to pneumonia.
No evidence of person-to-person transmission.
All victims test positive for H1N1; antibodies are present in high quantities.
Initial symptoms (stage 1) are similar to severe flu strains: sudden onset of headache, severe muscle, and joint pain, dry cough, runny nose, dizziness, labored breathing, flushed skin, sneezing and fever.
Stage 2 symptoms present as very rapid degeneration of lung tissue resulting in extreme hemorrhaging and facial cyanosis.
If cases grow to 100,000:
Home Quarantines to guard against potential jump to person-to-person
Vaccinations become mandatory
“1918 has gone: a year momentous as the termination of the most cruel war in the annals of the human race; a year which marked, the end at least for a time, of man's destruction of man; unfortunately a year in which developed a most fatal infectious disease causing the death of hundreds of thousands of human beings. Medical science for four and one-half years devoted itself to putting men on the firing line and keeping them there. Now it must turn with its whole might to combating the greatest enemy of all--infectious disease," (12/28/1918).
The Spanish Flu came and went in a relatively short amount of time. Experts don't un
derstand what made it so virulent or why it hasn't returned since 1920. It came on the heels of WWI, a time when human suffering had reached a historic high. During the war, humans killed 17 million humans. Then Enza took another 100 million lives. Was this God's reaction to our extreme evils against one another? Deciding to nearly wipe out a generation of 15 to 35-year-olds and reducing life expectancy by more than a decade?
So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an Ark of cypress wood.”
Eli jolted from the hypnotic state of downloading and felt completely spent. As though he desperately needed sleep though it wasn’t even 7:00 AM. None of this made sense to him. Where did all these thoughts come from? Could he really have made them up in a waking dream? He would talk to a counselor at the shelter, that’s what he’d do. But first … his eyelids were so heavy. Eli’s bearded chin fell slowly to his chest and forced him to look at the sign-in his lap once more. Though upside down, the words screamed out to him. 'Even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.' His short-circuited brain struggled one last time to decipher what those words might mean and how they’d come to him. Then a lethargic thought, as hazy as the fog that surrounded him, surfaced as he remembered the newsstand would open soon.
“Would the President’s state of emergency speech be good for business?”
With closed eyes, he chewed on this question until merciful sleep stole over him. The sign in perfect display on his lap, almost as if the mere act of writing it had drained the life out of him.