GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS: Okay, I have to go teach Administrative Law, but I just ran into my old secretary who left here for a job with the county public health department. She’s carrying a pager that’s just for smallpox (or other bioterrorism, but smallpox is what they’re worried about). She gets her shot next week. They’ve already identified the locations where they’ll give emergency vaccinations, and they’ve made all the plans on who goes where with what so that all it takes to start the vaccination process is one mass pager message. They even have pre-arrangements for buses to take people to the innoculation centers.

I’m glad to hear that there’s so much planning and efficiency involved. But it indicates to me that someone is taking the threat rather more seriously than the general run of the media tends to suggest. And while the efficiency is comforting, what this says about the threat isn’t comforting at all.