The ‘false’ pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu The swine flu outbreak was a ‘false pandemic’ driven by drug companies that stood to make billions of pounds from a worldwide scare, a leading health expert has claimed. Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, accused the makers of flu drugs and vaccines of influencing the World Health Organisation’s decision to declare a pandemic. This led to the pharmaceutical firms ensuring ‘enormous gains’, while countries, including the UK, ‘squandered’ their meagre health budgets, with millions being vaccinated against a relatively mild disease. www.dailymail.co.uk Cheerleader seriously crippled after being vaccinated with H1N1 shot www.youtube.com Obama declares H1N1 emergency President Obama has declared a national emergency to deal with the “rapid increase in illness” from the H1N1 influenza virus. “The 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities,” Obama said in a statement. “Thus, in recognition of the continuing progression of the pandemic, and in further preparation as a nation, we are taking additional steps to facilitate our response.” www.cnn.com
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