# 1813
One of the hazards of accepting the invitation to the HHS's pandemic communications exercise was that I had to fly from Tampa - to Atlanta - to Washington DC, and of course return.
Over the course of 3 days I flew aboard an MD-88 twice, a 757, and a 767. Three of the four flights I took were fully booked.
And on every flight people were hacking, coughing, and sneezing. Lots of people. This is, after all, the peak of the flu season.
And there is no possibility of social distancing aboard an airplane.
I've been lucky over the past couple of years. Except for 1 36-hour bout with what was probably a Noro-virus a year ago, I haven't even caught a cold. I get my flu shot every year, wash my hands probably 10 times a day, and most importantly, avoid people who appear to be contagious.
But of course, I couldn't do that this week.
Like clockwork, five days after my flight to D.C., I've woken up with a raging sore throat and a cough. So far, no fever, so it's probably just a cold.
We'll see - maybe I'll get lucky.
The point of this post is to point up how difficult it will be to avoid exposure during a pandemic. Particularly aboard public transportation. Whether you ride a plane, a train, a bus, or a subway . . . you are going to be jammed together like sardines.
Schools and day care centers are similarly close quartered, and of course, hospitals will be hotbeds of contagions.
In retrospect, I suppose I could have worn a mask aboard the plane. Of course, that might have been upsetting to some of the passengers. It was bad enough I took the paperback novel No Highway, by Nevil Shute, to read on the trip.
The next few days are likely to be less than optimal. On the plus side, maybe I'm creating antigens that may be of some use in a pandemic someday.
Just remember: It's Flew Season.
Pass it on.
Or better yet. Don't.
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