Influenza: Viral Virulence (9 page)

Chapter 9

Michael, Brian, and
Scott went back to class the next morning. With a little more concern, they all noticed that only a few students showed up to class. Michael had told them about his trip to the pound and how no one was caring for the animals there. He asked Brian if he would let him use the car to go back tonight to check on them. He hoped the manager had dropped by and whipped everybody for screwing up the schedule.

After Brian threatened to punch him if he ever thought that he needed his permission to borrow his car, Michael left for the animal shelter once again. As he passed the gasoline station, he noticed even more cars backed up in a line to fill up. He was glad he had thought to fill up the car yesterday. He saw an attendant placing a large cardboard sign on the pumps that read, “Out of Gas.”

Arriving at the shelter, Michael was once again shocked to see that the parking lot was empty. He went inside to the reception area and could tell that no one had been in since he was there yesterday evening. Disgusted with the lack of care, Michael went in and fed the dogs. When he got to Sandy’s cage, she seemed overjoyed to see him. She danced around in circles and barked happily.

“Hi, Sandy!” Michael said and patted the top of her head. Her tailed swished back and forth furiously.

Michael then went down the corridor and pulled the chains to open the gates to the outdoor runs. Most of the dogs went running in and out between barking at Michael and enjoying the outside air.

Going back into the reception area, he took down the contact list of names and numbers from the wall. He went through the list and dialed each number. No answer. Frustrated, Michael dialed the manager’s number, again with no result.

He sat there at the desk with his head in his hands. What was he going to do? He couldn’t come back to the shelter every day, especially with what was going on in the rest of the world. Everything was unraveling outside the walls of the kennel. What was happening was not the dogs’ fault, so why should they have to suffer if humans decided to be negligent in their duties? He would not be able to take care of all of these animals by himself, yet no one had shown up to help. What to do? What to do?

He picked up the contact list and dialed all the numbers on the sheet again. Part of him was getting more frustrated and angry each time he dialed a number and it just rang and rang. He knew that some people were sick, but he also wondered how many had simply given up and were staying at home, hiding like mice. Did they really even care about these animals? They had just left the dogs here to starve and die in their own filth.

Coming to a radical decision, Michael slammed the phone down after calling the supervisor one final time and not receiving a response. He went back into the kennel, where the chorus of dogs greeted him. Storming out the back door into the yard, he went over to the fence and swung the gate wide open. He came back inside and filled up the food bowls one more time.

After they ate their fill, Michael walked down the aisle and opened the cages one by one. Sensing freedom, the dogs happily ran out into the backyard. They barked eagerly at one another as they ran. Michael watched them go with a glad heart. He knew that if things got back to normal, he would have hell to pay for what he had just done. But in his mind, it was more humane to let the dogs go free than to keep them locked up where they would starve to death. At least he had given them a chance to survive.

When Michael opened Sandy’s cage, she walked out and sat down at his feet. She looked up at him expectantly.

“Well, Sandy,” Michael said, petting her. “It was nice to know you for such a short time. But now you’re free to go dig and run and do whatever dogs do.”

He got up from stroking her fur and shooed her toward the open back door. Sandy just sat there looking at him like he was a crazy man jumping and flailing his hands around.

Giving up, he went back into the storeroom and dragged the most of the remaining bags of dog food out. Sandy followed him. As she watched, he filled up all the dog bowls he could find and left them outside. At least if the dogs couldn’t find food, they could come back here.

Satisfied that he had done all he could do, he left the building and went to Brian’s car. Sandy quietly trotted along behind him. Reaching the car door, Michael turned around and bent down.

“You’re a good girl, Sandy,” he said, rubbing behind her ears.

She looked into his face, and he pulled back just in time to miss getting another sloppy kiss.

“I have to go home now,” Michael said as he opened the car door. “You need to run off and join your other friends…”

Sandy squeezed beside him and jumped into the car through the open door. She went over to the passenger’s seat and sat down.

“No, Sandy, I can’t…” he started to say. She looked at him and gave him one of her smiles. He felt his heart going out to this dog. He just stood there, amazed.

From the other side of the car, Sandy looked at him and started to pant. If she could talk, she’d be saying, “Come on, let’s go.”

“Brian’s going to kill me,” Michael muttered as he went back into the shelter. He took an extra leash and collar from the pegs on the wall and then carried a full bag of dog food back to the car. Opening the trunk, he deposited the bag and then returned to get the last bag from the supply closet. After placing the heavy, fifty pound bag on top of the other one, he closed the trunk and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Sandy was still waiting expectantly for him. He drove back to the apartment while she watched the passing scenery out of the side window.

Chapter 10

“All classes have
been canceled until further notice,” Brian announced.

Michael asked Brian to repeat what he had just said, because the apartment door had squeaked so loudly when he entered that he didn’t understand what Brian was so excited about.

Brian told him again that the university had unilaterally canceled all classes.

“The campus is like a ghost town,” Scott added. “Everyone must be staying indoors.”

Then, they both noticed the dog at the same time.

“Who’s this?” Scott asked.

“Her name is Sandy. She was left at the pound. No one is coming in to feed the dogs.”

“No one?” Brian asked, coming over to pet Sandy.

Sandy wagged her tail as Brian petted her and gave him a big, sloppy kiss.

“Ugh,” Brian said as he wiped his face, laughing. “You could have warned me.”

“I called all the workers, and no one answered their phones. It’s ridiculous. All those animals have been left to die.”

“So, what can you do?” Scott asked. “You didn’t just leave them locked up there, did you?”

“I let them all loose,” Michael admitted.

“Good,” Brian and Scott said together.

“I’m going to be in big doo-doo when they find out,” Michael said. Then he rubbed Sandy on the top of her head. “This one decided all by herself to come with me.”

“No one is taking care of them? What the heck is going on out there?” Brian exclaimed, indicating the world outside their little apartment.

“Let’s sit down, and I’ll tell you what I know,” Michael said to them. He then told them about his conversation with his parents and that they were heading out of the city. Since they had been preparing for a possible economic collapse, they were also well prepared for any major incident. He also told them about his real reason for going to the grocery store and that they all should conserve their food.

When Michael finished, Brian looked at him and asked bluntly, “Are you crazy?”

“I don’t think so,” Michael answered back. “If I am, please let me know. I would feel a lot better if I was going crazy and this was just paranoia. Look at it this way. Best-case scenario, this is all over in a couple of days. People are no longer sick, and classes start up again. But on the other hand, worst case…” He trailed off.

“Look at this,” Scott called. He had just turned on the TV. The national news station was on. Scott hit the remote several times to turn the volume up. On the screen, an official-looking man dressed in a white lab coat was at a podium reading a statement. Bold red letters streamed across the bottom of the screen that screamed “Alert…Alert…Alert.” The caption just above identified the man as Dr. Jacobson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michael walked around to the recliner and sat down. Sandy followed him and lay down quietly next to the chair.

Dr. Jacobson was speaking as Scott turned the volume up.

“…has undergone a major antigenic shift.”

“Please explain what a ‘major antigenic shift’ is, Dr. Jacobson,” a reporter from the audience called out.

“Every year the flu virus undergoes what we call a ‘minor antigenic shift.’ This is quite common and is the reason why we have to modify the flu vaccine slightly each year so it will be effective against the new strains.”

“Okay…”

“When a major antigenic shift occurs, that means the virus has changed radically and that a whole new vaccine has to be produced. A past example of when a major antigenic shift occurred would be when the commonly called ‘swine flu’ broke out. The influenza virus changed so radically that we had to adapt to the whole new strain for the following year’s flu season. Now, the probability of a major antigenic shift occurring is small and…”

“Dr. Jacobson,” another reporter broke in. “Are you telling us that the flu virus has had a ‘major’ change, and the current flu vaccine given to everyone in the nation is not having any effect on the virus?”

“Well,” the doctor started hesitantly, watching his words carefully, “the current influenza vaccine being used is not effective at halting the virus.”

“So, you’re telling me that all of us who have had the flu vaccine this year are not protected from this current flu strain?” the news reporter pressed.

“That is correct.”

“So, in conclusion, the flu vaccine has no effect at all on the virus?”

Dr. Jacobson squirmed at the podium and stuttered an inaudible reply. His forehead was starting to perspire.

“What was that, Dr. Jacobson?” the reporter pressed, sensing that the poor doctor wasn’t telling them everything.

Dr. Jacobson now looked like a deer caught in approaching headlights.

“What did you say?” the news anchorman repeated.

“Not exactly,” the CDC scientist finally said.

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’? You just said the flu vaccine doesn’t protect against the influenza virus. So, what effect does it have?”

Dr. Jacobson appeared to be distressed. He stuttered again and then finally blurted out, “It appears from the tests we’ve done on the virus that it has a chemical structure having an affinity for the antibodies produced by the vaccine. We’ve never seen this effect before. This particular affinity has never happened before and is quite interesting.”

The reporter looked lost. “Please, Doctor. In plain English.”

“Normally, administering the flu vaccine causes the body to produce antibodies. These antibodies recognize and then attack the influenza virus when the virus enters the body. That is how the flu vaccine works. In the current cases we have studied in the California pandemic, these antibodies actually help the influenza virus spread throughout the infected person’s body. We don’t know how or why.”

A clamor of voices erupted in the background. One voice, however, seemed to rise above the rest. “Are you actually telling us that the flu vaccine is
helping
the influenza virus spread?”

“It appears that way. Yes,” the doctor answered into the microphone. “Not only is it helping the new influenza strain reproduce throughout the body, but it also seems to make the person more susceptible to becoming infected.”

Michael, Scott, and Brian looked at each other in total shock. Then, they stared back at the news broadcast. Now, the red letters scrolling across the screen read, “Alert…Do NOT get the flu vaccine…Alert…Do NOT get the flu vaccine.” The scene devolved from a normal interview to complete chaos. People started running around in front of the camera, and the helpless CDC doctor looked completely distressed.

The caption now read, “CDC states Influenza Vaccine puts people at Risk.”

Some unknown men dressed in military uniforms quickly appeared from off camera and whisked Dr. Jacobson away from the podium. There was a multitude of voices shouting in the background as the television screen suddenly went dark. Someone at the controls in the news room must have hit the switch. After a few seconds, a regular commercial started playing. It was something about car insurance.

Scott hit the TV remote mute button, and all three of them just sat in stunned silence. Scott was the first to speak. “Glad we never got the flu shot, I guess.”

“But look how many people have already gotten the shot,” Brian said. “And think about all of those people who were
required
to get the flu shot as part of their job. I’m talking about the police, the military, government workers, and most companies that require their employees to get immunized. I bet they all had to get the flu shot.”

“And all medical personnel,” Michael added. “That means that all these vaccinated people who are trying to treat all the infected people…”

Scott pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. He then took the phone away from his ear and looked at the phone in confusion.

“Fast busy?” Michael asked.

Scott nodded.

“I’ve been getting that all day. Either the airways are jammed with too many calls, or someone is shutting down the cell-phone towers.”

“Why would they do that?” Brian asked. “I mean, why would they shut down the towers?”

“Prevent panic?” Scott suggested. He picked up the house phone. With the landline, he managed to get through to his parents. With visible relief, he found that they were okay, and neither was showing any signs of illness.

Brian was on the phone next and was also relieved to find out that everyone at his house was okay.

Michael went last. He dialed his parents’ number, and it just rang. Hanging up the phone slowly, he hoped they had already left for Aunt Thelma’s. He refused to allow the alternative to cross his mind.

Just then, they heard police sirens erupt in the distance.

Scott turned to both of them. “What do we do now?”

After the fiasco at the CDC news conference, the government had to take immediate action. With the truth finally released, there was little choice on how to proceed. After the president gave the orders for the rumored but very real internet kill-switch to be activated and for the FCC to shut down all cell towers, he was taken by his military escort down into the emergency presidential bunker. Once the joint chiefs of staff met on Thursday, martial law was declared across the continental United States. All attempts were made to keep the media censored, but rogue stations still managed to broadcast.

All heads turned to the president when he suddenly coughed after the emergency meeting was adjourned.