WHO Fights Back Over “Fake Pandemic” Accusations
January 18th, 2010. By janem
The World Health Organization (WHO) is almost in fisticuffs over recent accusations that it exaggerated the H1N1 threat. “The world is going through a real pandemic,” said Dr. Fukuda, the WHO’s special adviser on pandemic influenza. “The description of it as fake is both wrong and irresponsible.”
On January 15th the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) released the latest statistics– based on two nationwide telephone surveys–about H1N1 fatalities, infection rates and inoculations covering the first eight months of the “pandemic” from April through mid-December. According to the surveys, about 55 million people contacted the infectious virus, nearly 246,000 needed hospitalization and around 11,160 died from the flu.
Do these statistics sound like a pandemic? CDC estimated that about 36,000 people died of seasonal flu-related causes each year during the 1990s in the US. So why don’t we have a pandemic alert every year? It makes you wonder: Is the CDC and WHO collaborating with big pharma companies like Glaxo Smith Kline? Surely GSK can afford to bank roll them with the profits they are making from their H1N1 vaccine.
Meanwhile, health officials and hospitals nationwide report that the outbreak has waned.
For instance, Des Moines’ main hospitals are loosening their visitor policies and Tarrant County, Texas is closing six locations that have been administering the H1N1 vaccine because their health department says the number of people wanting the vaccine had dropped off.
At the end of January, the Council of Europe will be debating “Faked Pandemics: a threat to health”, and WHO officials have been asked to testify. Dr. Fukuda has denied that the WHO was influenced by the pharma industry in declaring a pandemic.
Health officials warn that a third wave of H1N1 is coming. If it does, the WHO is off the hook. If it doesn’t hit, I guess they’ve got a lot of explaining to do.
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You should be thankful it didn't turn out as bad as predicted – I would bet that the number of cases of H1N1 would classify as a pandemic, it just didn't turn out to be as severe. However, it killed my father. So I only care about one number – his. He was an otherwise healthy sixty year old university professor. Call it what you will, I'll call it a disaster that more people should be thankful they didn't have to experience the full brunt of.
Hi Matisse, Thank you for your comment–and yes, I am very thankful that the H1N1 flu did not turn out to be as severe in numbers as anticipated. I am sorry for your loss, and certainly appreciate that from your perspective, as with anyone who has experienced the premature loss of a loved one, the only number you care about is the dear one you lost. I've known several individuals who have been stricken with H1N1 and their experiences were very, very different–ranging from one patient who was basically told to "go home and ride it out" to another who was on a respirator in ICU for close to two weeks. H1N1, no matter how prevalent–and to what extent it can or cannot be called a "pandemic"–is still very serious.