Mike the Usurper wrote:
Once again, dubya demonstrates why Crawford needs their villiage idiot back. The current strain of bird flu is a great hazard to birds, and probably to the people who handle them, but making a vaccine for the current strain will do a whole lot of nothing other than throw yet more money down a hole.

This FAQ from the NIH covers the vaccine...

If cases of human infections increase, people simultaneously infected with human and avian influenza strains could become a “mixing vessel” for the disease. The result could be the emergence of a lethal H5N1 influenza virus that is easily transmitted from person to person. Such an easily transmissible virus could trigger a worldwide influenza pandemic.

i.e. if they prevent people from getting the current strain it will help prevent a jump to a form that can be transmitted between people.

We know that flu viruses change over time (a process known as “antigenic drift”). However, in response to the increasing number of H5 cases reported in early 2004, public health officials deemed it critical to move ahead quickly and select one of the available human H5 viruses for vaccine production. If a distinct H5N1 virus should suddenly emerge, an additional new vaccine against that strain may be needed. Ultimately, the experience gained by manufacturers in preparing the current vaccine should make us better prepared for the next time.