Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Flu Vaccine

British news outlets are reporting that vaccines for the common flu have almost run out. There is a public dispute going on, with doctors blaming the NHS for not having enough vaccines available and the NHS blaming the doctors for not ordering enough in the first place.

The problem is that while there were 14.5 Million vaccines ordered when normal usage is 11 million it was the same media that is now reporting on the shortage that actually caused that shortage. It was their apocalypse reporting around the bird flu pandemic that was about to kill us all last month that drove many healthy people, who were not at risk, to go get the vaccine. To add insult to injury the common flu vaccine does not work against the infamous H5N1 bird flu virus. Now people who are genuinely at risk are unable to get the vaccine they need.

The media of course will not report their part in this fiasco and instead tut-tut at the NHS and doctors. They made their deadlines with bird flu and now they have made their deadlines reporting the vaccine shortages.

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