Hysteria

We've seen in the past day a veritable stampede of people to clinics to be vaccinated against the swine flu. They're lining up at five a.m., waiting hours for the shot. They're swallowing holus-bolus the scary scenario presented by medical authorities that in my opinion is unjustified.

The Australian winter and flu season has just ended. They didn't have the vaccine and H1N1 related deaths totalled 186 out of 36,991 confirmed cases. This compares with an annual toll of 2500 to 3000 fatalities for the regular flu despite large-scale vaccination programs. So go figure.

Why is flu more prevalent in the cold season when the virus is around all year? Perhaps because we have little sun exposure. I have never been vaccinated and have not had a flu in 40 years. In that period of time I have been a heavy user of vitamins and minerals and, more recently, vitamin D3, the sunshine vitamin. A good immune system must be maintained.

One result of this panic is that it takes resourses away from more important isues. Emergency rooms are crowded with people with sniffles. Evidence that swine flu is so dreadful is sketchy at best and the vaccine has not been proven. The rush to produce it begs the question of adequate testing and research. Most people in North America have mild symptoms and a quick recovery. Most of those who develop serious problems have chronic illnesses or other health problems. So why should we all be stampeded?

For my part, I'm not getting the shot. Instead, I might buy shares in the big pharmeceutical companies that are raking in the dough.