Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters Africa (August 10, 2010)
"The H1N1 pandemic is over and the global outbreak turned out to be much less severe than was feared just over a year ago, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
"WHO director-general Margaret Chan once again rebutted criticism that the United Nations agency had hyped the first pandemic in more than 40 years, whose mildness left some Western governments holding huge stockpiles of unused vaccines.
"The Hong Kong public health expert said the world had been lucky the H1N1 virus had not mutated into a more deadly form and that a safe vaccine developed in record time remained effective against it...."
Note: It's the pandemic that WHO says is over. The H1N1 flu we were dealing with is still around. For individuals affected, it's still nothing to sneeze at. But as a disease sweeping the world? It's history.
More H1N1 flu news:
- "WHO says pandemic over, India to be on guard"
Indian Express (August 11 2010) - "H1N1 Pandemic Officially Over, Says WHO; Cites Lessons Learned"
Katherine Hobson Health Blog, Wall Street Journal (August 10, 2010) - "Swine Flu Pandemic Over, WHO Declares"
But H1N1 Flu Bug Still Here, Becoming Seasonal Virus
WebMD (August 10, 2010)
Could say 'much ado about nothing'!
ReplyDeleteToday the World Health Organization announced that the Swine Flu Pandemic that was going to kill zillions of unsuspecting, non- vaccinated people around the world – had fizzled out! But don't be too complacent they are still going to vaccinate you against it! Like it or not!
http://just-me-in-t.blogspot.com/2010/08/seasonal-oink-flu-pandemic-is-over.html
~~Just Me in T~~,
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure that the people who were killed by H1N1 would agree with the "much ado about nothing" assessment.
On the other hand, this pandemic wasn't nearly as serious as the Black Death, a few centuries back.
About mandatory vaccinations and related issues: I know too much about what's happened over the last few thousand years, to want to go back to 'the good old days.'
More: "Swine Flu: Pandemic H1N1 2009, Common Sense and the Lizard People" (October 14, 2009)