Vox asks 'Is it time to worry about bird flu?'

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for a post about what could be the pandemic." Watch Vox ask Is it time to worry about bird flu?

A practical guide to your bird flu fears.

In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, avian flu began aggressively circulating in wildlife. Dead and sick birds began showing up on shorelines. Poultry farms were forced to cull millions of animals, often in horrific ways, to help stop the spread. Egg prices skyrocketed. Farmers lost millions of dollars. The problem doesn’t stop with birds; avian flu has also been found in a wide range of mammals. More than 24,000 sea lions in South America have reportedly died from it. Then, on January 6, 2025, the US reported the first human death. It’s an alarming development, but fortunately an outlier. The truth is avian flu still poses little threat to humans. But if we’re not worried now, when should we be?

Short answer — not yet, but we need to pay attention. All the virus requires to become dangerous to people is the ability to be transmitted from human to human. Should it recombine with a human flu strain, it could acquire that ability. Then it's time to start worrying.

That's pretty much the same message to take home from AsapSCIENCE explaining Everything you need to know about BIRD FLU.

Should we be worried about Bird Flu? Are we on the brink of another pandemic?

Again, not yet, and probably not, but keep a (covered) eye out.

As Kim Mas of Vox pointed out, the main effect of bird flu so far has been on egg prices and availablity. PBS NewsHour covered that in Why a deadly strain of bird flu is making egg prices soar nationwide.

During 2024, the average price of a dozen large, Grade A eggs jumped 65 percent. The USDA predicts prices will go up another 20 percent this year. A big reason for these sky-high prices: the bird flu outbreak that started in 2022. John Yang speaks with livestock economist David Anderson and virologist Angela Rasmussen for more.

Both my wife and I have had trouble even finding the eggs we normally buy on store shelves. I went to Kroger last week and found almost none of the premium egg brands. Kroger had plenty of the store brand eggs, though, and I bought a carton. My wife found no actual eggs at Whole Foods, so she bought store brand liquid eggs. This is an annoyance and inconvenience, but it's not an actual threat.

That completes this outbreak update. Stay tuned for more politics, most likely filtered through comedy. I need to laugh because it hurts too much to cry.