WHO Rejects Claims it Hyped-Up H1N1 Flu

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

Questions are being raised about the H1N1 pandemic and how it has been handled by the United Nation's World Health Organization (WHO) — which has been spearheading the response since reports of the virus surfaced last April.

In a strongly worded defense today, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Special Adviser to the WHO Director-General on Pandemic Influenza, responded directly to the four major allegations:

• Whether this is really a pandemic
• Whether the WHO changed the definition of pandemic, i.e., dialed down the criteria to accommodate this outbreak
• Whether the WHO has overplayed the disease's effects
• Did any of these things happen because the WHO was unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry to allow big pharma to ratchet up production of a vaccine for business reasons

Dr. Fukuda gave a firm "no" to all of these charges Thursday.

The WHO, he says, had always predicted this would be a mild pandemic, but that since the definition of pandemic is the worldwide spread of a disease, this definitely fits the criteria.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/14/world/worldwatch/entry6096294.shtml?tag=stack

[NJmaverick]

1. Those claims were made by people who clearly were clueless about Public Health

if they had a clue they would never have even made the charges.

[Bragi]

2. I totally agree

I think the reality is that, if anything, this H1N1 virus showed us how unprepared we really are for a pandemic.

If that virus had not graciously given us 6 months lead time before it really hit, and not been inordinately mild, we would have been totally screwed.

The idea that WHO should have stood around doing nothing when faced with a novel influenza virus that is circulating in global populations is ridiculous.

- B

[Mojorabbit]

3. I also agree

and they would be the first screaming if this flu had mutated into a major killer. As it is we were woefully under prepared and lucky as hell it ended up being so mild. That being said, it ain't over yet and it is too soon for arm chair reviews.

[Bragi]

4. I fear the worst in terms of "lessons learned"

I agree it's not yet timely to do the wrap up, but I fear we are in for an orgy of self-congratulatory assessments about how successful public health was in managing this outbreak.

Truth is, we got lucky; had this been a severe virus, we were totally screwed.

somehow I'm not seeing that as being the central message of the reviews-to- come.

Hope I'm wrong.

[stuart68]

10. It was a lot of hype

to cover trtcks of delivering profit to Pharma - check Recovery.gov for all the "stimulus" money that used to fund vaccine production - and don't they sell it back to us anyway ?

Now there are truckloads of excess vaccine around and we weren't making it fast enough ??

not too tough to figure out.

[TZ]

17. Stimulus money WASN'T used doofus

It was regular government grants THAT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. Jeebus.
And no it wasn't "sold back to you". Did you miss all THE FREE VACCINE CLINICS that state health depts ran?

[stuart68]

34. Thanks, but maybe get your facts before spouting off

Recovery.gov - stimulus money sent to vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pastuer (search on 18370 zip code) FOR VACCINE PRODUCTION - $45,000,000 - it did save 30 jobs, however.

When you get vaccinated at many locations, there is a charge (including your doctor, Target, etc). I didn't say there weren't free clinics.

Apology accepted !


my typing sucks.

[stuart68]

37. AND

the gov't paid them for the vaccines they produced !

[Romulox]

27. It's was likely another stealth handout to a mutlinational corp--Astra Zeneca in this case. nt

[stuart68]

36. Sanofi Pastuer, to be precise

[diamidue]

40. absolutely. What a scam.

[elocs]

5. With H1N1 the specter of the 1918 flu pandemic was continually raised to scare people

and they cried "wolf, wolf, wolf" and people were scared. The trouble is that you cannot prove a negative and when the time comes when the wolf is really here will people believe them then?

[Bragi]

7. How do you banish discussion of 1918?

If you look closely, I think you'll see that the 1918 comparison was a media meme, not a public health message.

Even at that, I can't see how anyone can (or that one should even try to) banish talk about previous pandemics during a pandemic.

You're point about crying "wolf" is a good one, though. The problem here was that there was a wolf, but that it turned out to be of the defanged variety.

I have no doubt, however, that it will be more difficult next time to raise public concern, at least initially.

[elocs]

9. The media was used to spread the public health message and much of that was about 1918

and how millions died. It's not too difficult to see how people would get worried when the talk is about the H1N1 virus, swine flu, another pandemic and then talk about the 1918 flu pandemic where millions die, having the two connected. Then warning people to get vaccinated, but initially not having enough of the vaccine.

None of this bodes well for the next time.

[Bragi]

11. Don't think the facts bear that out

I don't think you will find that many credible public health people were making statements connecting this panic with the 1918 one. It was almost all media that did this.

[elocs]

14. And the media was what most of the regular people heard and saw every day.

You cannot expect people to hear about the pandemic of 1918 in one breath and the H1N1 pandemic in another and not make a connection. I heard that where I live, even of public radio and tv.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

35. Should the government control what the media says?

If the media leads with the worst case scenarios and doesn't acknowledge that they are the very worst case scenarios, who is to blame and how do you fix it?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

32. Of course the fact that the 1918 pandemic was also H1N1 didn't play a factor in that right?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

30. Are you saying this was falsely classified as a pandemic?

[Rebubula]

6. Well...

...Pete Townsend does have a lot to answer for....


Wait....what?

[DesertDiamond]

8. There is evidence that the H1N1 "swine flu" was, from the start, all about profit.. see links inside

It pays to ask questions, especially when huge amounts of profit are involved...

Investigative reporters have uncovered evidence that

1) H1N1 was manufactured from samples of the 1918 flu, the Spanish flu and the Asian flu, all stolen from the CDC, by a drug company which then very quickly showed up with the vaccination for it

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Sherry+Beall%22+%22Swine+Flu%22&search_type=&aq=f

2) It was indeed overhyped and...

3) The vaccine did health damage

http://www.sherrybeall.com/

[Bragi]

12. And away we go...

[MicaelS]

13. Oh please....

I would much rather public health over react than under react. The consequences of the latter could be tens of millions of dead human beings. So what IF, and I say IF someone made big bucks?

[Romulox]

16. LOL at: "could be tens of millions of dead human beings" in a thread questioning the hype.

:hi:

[TZ]

19. Complete and utter bullshit

The H1N1 is a TOTALLY new virus. Got any SCIENCE links for that. Because as an employee for a company that manufactures the vaccine, none of US would have needed our FREE flu shots if this was the case.

[Odin2005]

23. That tinfoil is cutting off the blood supply to your brain.

[Romulox]

15. I suspect it was a corporatist scam. nt

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TZ]

20. Has it ever occured to people

that one: we were dealing with a brand new virus so nobody REALLY knew how dangerous it was?
and two: That rapid reaction to dealing with it by the WHO, CDC and others helped lessen the effects. Because for certain groups of people this was a VERY dangerous disease. Young people, pregnant women, people with respitory issues.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Romulox]

25. You've got an anger problem. nt

[daleo]

33. That's how I look at it

Basically, things worked out ok. I had the flu early on, and was lucky enough to have a very mild case. But I don't assume the fact that I had a mild case means it was all hype.

[Odin2005]

22. I see the anti-vax idiots have arrived.

[Romulox]

26. It's cute that everyone who disagrees with you fits into a nice box.

Who's an "anti-vax" idiot? I didn't get the H1N1 vaccine; it's faulty logic to infer that I'm an "anti-vax" idiot from this fact--in fact, all the rest of my shots are up to date (as are my cat, though he's due for a rabies!)

So I guess you're the "pro vax" idiot with a less-than-firm grasp of logic? :silly: :hi:

[Odin2005]

28. I wasn't the one accusing TZ of being a shill.

[Romulox]

29. Well, he came in withe OMG CAPS NAMECALLING first, admitted his financial stake second.

My response was more than measured, given his mindless abuse. That you chose to parrot the abuse is nobody's responsibility but yours.

Enjoy sitting with your anger. :hi:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

31. Idiots is too strong. Ignorant drones is more appropriate.

[Fly by night]

38. Washington Post: H1N1 flu pandemic could be the mildest ever documented

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7182766

Of course, folks like me (who are actual, you know, epidemiologists) caught hell here at DU for suggesting months ago that H1N1 was another over-blown weapon of mass distraction.

Turns out we may just be right.

I have always defined epidemiologist as "truth-teller".

Don't you wish everybody did?

[StarryNite]

39. Apparently we must march in lockstep

A couple of days ago when a video which cast doubt on the H1N1 scare was posted, it was deemed to be lacking in political content and was locked. However this thread which takes the opposite view remains unlocked. I guess it's considered to be of political content. :shrug: At the time I wondered if a pro-H1N1 vaccine video would be able to stay unlocked. Well, I think I got my answer.

[kestrel91316]

41. Public health officials are always sadly aware that if they avert a disaster

they will be accused of being Chicken Littles, and if they don't they will be accused of doing nothing. They can't win, either way. And yet every day they get up and go to work and keep trying to keep us safe from the coming plague. They are f-ing saints as far as I'm concerned.