Swine Flu: Big Picture Time
OK, first of all, my apologies for the recent silence. I’ve been deep in the weeds on a story that is now finished—and will come out in January. It was an epic ride, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and am glad is over. But more on that later.
Now seems like a good time to revisit the slow-motion disaster of the year. To be sure, we still don’t know how the swine flu story ends. But we finally know the headline. Beyond all the noise about H1N1, the CDC, pigs and Mexico, this will go down as a story about outdated technology—the kind that we should have been embarrased about a long time ago.
As Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today:
“We were fighting the 2009 H1N1 flu with vaccine technology from the 1950s. We could race to begin vaccine production, but there was nothing we could do if vaccine grew slowly in eggs. We could make deals with foreign vaccine producers ahead of time, but we still wouldn’t have as much control over the vaccine as if they were based in the U.S….We were working to squeeze every last bit of efficiency and dependability out of a safe but outdated technology. It was like an old car we had tuned up but still didn’t accelerate like we needed it to. And for us, the conclusion was clear: If we wanted to avoid these problems in the future, we needed to make some long-term investments in developing countermeasures that were just as safe and effective, but could be produced faster and more reliably.”
I hope this pandemic has peaked, and I hope there is no third wave. But regardless, this problem ain’t going away. To see what I mean (and make the magical connection between swine flu and terrorism—yes, there really is one! Not just pure fear mongering…!), check out this short H1N1 video from the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.
Student said on February 01, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Nice article, but as for me this is a special politics program. Maybe government wants only misleading us?!
HSA said on February 05, 2010 at 9:27 pm
It’s not surprising we haven’t heard any recent news on the swine flu because it’s not news anymore. It didn’t turn out and doesn’t seem like it’s going to turn out to be a pandemic. The only stories that have surfaced are stories about the vaccines being recalled which strikes fear into Americans even though there’s nothing to worry about because the vaccine is still strong enough to work. I’m still glad I got the vaccine but I haven’t seen or heard anything about outbreaks recently.
Magento said on February 10, 2010 at 7:53 am
Is the swine flu a genetically modified virus released on purpose?
Josh Black said on March 01, 2010 at 7:44 am
Really swine flu disaster predominantly involved all the countries in 2009. Most people were panic-stricken with the influenza virus H1 N1. Certainly the authorities try to lessen this decease by proclaiming different saving measures. But they were not always efficient as vaccine was produced slowly and its technologies were outdated. I completely agree with the author that in order to avoid such disasters in the future we should think about them beforehand: namely investing some money into developing countermeasures. And I think one reason more, that is try to overcome such obstacles either deceases or terrorism threats mentally, not to subdue to their destroying influences.
Thank you and good luck
Surety Bail Bond said on April 25, 2011 at 8:27 pm
I remember when news of that first hit, everyone was panic-stricken. Even some of my family members were stocking for supplies and things, and people at work were being trained. It was kinda crazy. Not much ever came of it here anyways, but I do agree with Josh that certain measures should be taken to help avoid or lessen the risk of future disasters as such.