Bring Out Your Dead!

"Cattle!" I exclaimed watching the news today of long line-ups for H1N1 flu shots across Toronto. There have been varying reports of wait times to get the vaccine. Two hours at the International Centre, and I could of sworn I heard 7 hours at one clinic. The City of Toronto has exploded into full on Swine Flu hysteria. People are cutting in line in front of the vulnerable, they're pulling their kids out of school, they're flooding the ERs for every minor ailment, and they're freaking out if anyone coughs or sneezes. Well, at least that's what the news was saying.

Walking along Front Street to the CBC building on an dreary Wednesday morning, everything seems to be moving along as normal, or as normal as Toronto gets. Aside from the hand sanitizers and various workplace safety posters scattered around, there was nothing to indicate the hysteria on the news. I don't for a second doubt that it's not happening. I must admit the panic over H1N1 has taken me back somewhat. You'd think this was a full on mass outbreak of the Bubonic Plague or Small Pox. Anyone see The Omega Man or 28 Days Later?

Taken back yes, but surprised no. The UN's World Health Organization has been stoking Swine Flu as the next big pandemic that would replicate the 50 million dead from the Spanish Flu in 1918. The Swine Flu has killed 6,000 people worldwide so far. This is considerably less than the 250,000 to 500,000 the Seasonal Flu kills over the same six month period. Governments and the media have done an excellent job in containing H1N1 but have failed on maintaining public calm.

The disease is not what I would call a pandemic. It's just the regular flu. However, governments and the media have been pushing people to this panicked state. When a 14 year old Toronto boy died of it this week, that was the spark that ignited the powder keg of panic that had been festering for some time.

The problem with this is that the Swine Flu will peter out like any other Seasonal Flu. People will look back at it and say "we got all worked up over that?" It's not the first pandemic the WHO panicked about and got wrong. Remember how the H5N1 Bird Flu was going to be the end of us? Repeated false pandemics highlight the need for restraint on the part of global and national health bodies. Of course you want to contain a disease before it becomes a pandemic. However, if you panic and it doesn't pan out, the public will eventually stop believing you. It's the classic Boy Who Cried Wolf dilemma.

Governments need to act with calm reserve in these cases to make sure people who are at highest risk get treated first. The massive rush of sheep to the immunization centres is an example of a colossal failure on the government's part. Since panic was openly encouraged, people who had no business getting the shot were cutting the line. Now there is a shortage of vaccine for the people who do need it most.

Our society is really in a shameful state if we just go to pieces over nothing like this. Hopefully, we'll learn from our mistakes next time.