The report, published in the British Medical Journal, found World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on the use of medicine to treat the virus were prepared by experts who had received consulting fees from the top two manufacturers of the drugs - Roche and GlaxoSmithKline.
http://english.aljazeera.net/...
It really amazes me, and I know it shouldn't:
Just how deep down the rabbit hole does the money go?
Whilst undoubtedly saving lives of those most susceptible to the virus, the panic was more heightened than usual.
The BMJ Report here:
She also believes that the very nature of allowing a trigger point for vaccine contracts opens the system up unnecessarily to exploitation. "It seems a problem that this declaration might trigger contracts to be realised. There should be safeguards in place to make sure those with an interest in vaccine manufacturers can’t exploit the situation. The WHO will have to look long and hard at this in future," she said.
The virus can mutate once again and we should be on our guard, however after the near hysteria generated, and pressure placed on governments to do everything possible; opens the early warning system to abuse.
The number of victims of H1N1 fell far short of even the more conservative predictions by the WHO. It could, of course, have been far worse.. Planning for the worst while hoping for the best remains a sensible approach. But our investigation has revealed damaging issues. If these are not addressed, H1N1 may yet claim its biggest victim—the credibility of the WHO and the trust in the global public health system.
As with all disease control at risk groups need to be identified as early as possible and protected appropriately.
Once again we are back to the question of oversight and regulation by our own government in conjunction with with others, with respect to the means by which International agencies perform their tasks.
Better tracking of the influence of big Pharma is essential to prevent this type of hard sell.
Where vast amounts of money are to be made, there you will find those trying to buy influence to make a even more in the end from panic buying of drugs.
We need to be able to react quickly to save lives, but we must also have confidence in the decision making process.
Peter could only cry 'Wolf' so many times.
The result of people ignoring the warnings in the future due to corruption in the past, could be devastating.