In 1976 there was a Swine Flu scare, followed by a lot of propaganda, which evolved into 40,000 Americans being inoculated in a very emotive nationwide campaign, sponsored by the US Public Health Service.
So what are the facts behind 1976?
- One cold February in 1976, a 19 year-old soldier, David Lewis, fell sick and died within 24 hours. He died from an influenza not seen since the Spanish Lady of 1918-19, which had killed approximately 40 million people
- Tests hastily taken by government doctors after Lewis’s death showed that 500 soldiers had caught Swine Flu without falling ill
- How the Swine Flu got to Fort Dix in 1967 still has not been tracked down
- A decision to inoculate the nation was made by Ford, one day after his surprise defeat to Ronald Reagan, in the North Carolina Republican presidential primary, though Carter eventually became president in November that year
- The makers of the vaccine insisted the government accept the liability for any harmful side effects from the vaccine
- Within days of the first inoculations (October 12th) three elderly people fell ill and died
- A total of 30 died from vaccine related causes
- There were fears that the vaccine was touching off neurological problems, especially rare Guillian-Barre syndrome
- The inoculation campaign did not stop until December that same year. Only 40,000 Americans were vaccinated, instead of the goal of 220 million
- Hundreds of Americans filed suit against the government
- The swine flu of ’76 became known as the ‘Epidemic-that-never-was’ with only ONE death
We empathize with governments. If they do not move in the face of a threat, they are remiss. If they move too soon and it is not a pandemic, as in 1976, they face the possibility of hundreds of lawsuits.
However, there are other factors that affect the equation:
- One of the new medications used to combat Swine Flu is Tamiflu, made and patented by Gilead Sciences and Donald Rumsfield was the chairman of the company
- Gilead Sciences stock went through the roof with the news of the Avian Flu (Rumsfield refused to sell his stock when he joined the Bush administration). Rumsfield became the richest man in the Bush administration
- Gilead Sciences successfully lobbied a billion dollar contract with the US military during the Avian Flu scare
- Now the same players are in the field again with the Swine Flu scare
It may be beneficial to take the advice of Dr Ira Longini, from Vaccine and Infectious Disease institute, Hutchinson Research Centre in Seattle, Washington. “Things such as ’social distancing’, (including wearing masks in crowded places) and seeking medical treatment can reduce the sickness by nearly two-thirds”.
Every year 36,000 people die in America alone from A and B type flu related problems. Every year 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu related problems. Whether we like it or not, winter months are flu months. The fact is that no matter what happens, there will be companies positioned to make a ‘killing’ in the face of the Swine Flu threat.
Only 8 deaths are actually recorded as being directly related to the current Swine Flu outbreak. Most cased reported outside the United States have proven to be only mild infections, with only a handful of patients requiring hospitalization.
We lived through the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, so know what it is to live through an actual pandemic scare. As will all these things, it is the education of the next generation that is of prime importance. That is why we are so passionate about providing education to kids in a third world country. We need your help and you could win an exotic 7 day holiday for two in the safety of the South Pacific. Check it out now. First Draw closes 30th May.
