Prescription drugs might not be the only medical supplies Americans seek north of the border:
Canada is one of just three countries equipped to survive a global outbreak of killer influenza, top American flu experts say.
They say the U.S., Hong Kong and most other nations would be devastated by a pandemic like the Spanish Flu, which killed an estimated 40 million people in 1918. In recent years, small outbreaks of new flu strains have provoked fears of a new pandemic.
“Only very few places in the world — maybe Canada, maybe Ontario, maybe the Netherlands, maybe Britain — will be able to handle it,” said Dr. Robert Webster, a virology professor at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
. . .
“Obviously, Ontario is the only place in the world at the moment with that capacity because of the fact they’re dishing out so many doses of flu [vaccine] during an average season.”
Many American states have already run short of vaccine, and flu shots can be expensive, a potential barrier for many people.
Perhaps we should be putting more resources into confronting known, natural killers and not empty the bank on the hijacking threat.