When the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak in Mexico hit the global news last year, the world went into a tizzy. Barbados joined many countries that rely on tourism by expressing concern at the likely impact of the outbreak on national economies. We should remember the H1N1 was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the peak of the hysteria to have reached pandemic levels. Through it all a small BU constituency remain strident in voicing scepticism at the reports emanating from the world’s leading health agencies.
It therefore comes as no surprise to have read in the last 24 hours about the fact drug companies stood to make billions of pounds from a worldwide scare caused by the swine flu outbreak. To validate the concerns of some labelled as BU conspiracists, an inquiry will be launched soon by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to investigate the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign, focusing especially on extent of the pharma‘s industry’s influence on WHO. The motion to launch the inquiry was introduced by Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, chairman of the Health Committee of PACE. To quote Dr. Wodarg who bears the qualification of a medical doctor and epidemiologist, a specialist in lung disease and environmental medicine, considers the current “pandemic” swine flu campaign of the WHO to be one of the greatest medicine scandals of the Century.
The charge appears to be that leaders in governments and the health agencies created hysteria which drove many governments to sign sleeping contracts with pharma to supply millions of H1N1 vaccine shots. To quote Dr. Wodarg, the atmosphere of panic led to governments stockpiling the anti-flu drug Tamiflu and putting in place sleeping contracts for millions of doses of vaccine.
Don’t expect to see this developing story reported in the traditional media.
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