Swine Flue Article in Mail Online

The 'false' pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu, claims Euro health chief | Mail
Online
Page 1 of 12
The 'false' pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu,
claims Euro health chief
By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 8:38 AM on 11th January 2010
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.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242147/The-false-pandemic-Drug-firms-cashed-scare-swine-flu-claims-Euro-health-chief.html... 11/01/2010
The 'false' pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu, claims Euro health chief | Mail Online
Trapped: British family Neil, Maria, Samuel and Abigail Willis were quarantined in their
hotel in Beijing, China, at the height of the swine flu scare
Page 2 of 12
A resolution proposed by Dr Wodarg calling for an investigation into the role of drug firms has been passed by the Council of Europe, the Strasbourgbased 'senate' responsible for the European Court of Human Rights.
An emergency debate on the issue will be held later this month.
Dr Wodarg's claims come as it emerged the British government is desperately trying to offload up to 1billion of swine flu vaccine, ordered at the height of
the scare.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson last year ordered the NHS to plan for up to
65,000 deaths
Page 3 of 12
The Department of Health warned of 65,000 deaths, set up a special advice line and website, suspended normal rules so anti-flu drugs could be given
out without prescription and told health and local authorities to prepare for a major pandemic.
Planners were told to get morgues ready for the sheer scale of deaths and there were warnings that the Army could be called in to prevent riots as people
fought to obtain drugs.
But with fewer than 5,000 in England catching the disease last week and just 251 deaths overall, Dr Wodarg has branded the H1N1 outbreak as 'one of
the greatest medical scandals of the century'.
He said: 'We have had a mild flu - and a false pandemic.'
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He added the seeds of the scare were sown five years ago, when it was feared the much more lethal bird flu virus would mutate into a human form.
The 'atmosphere of panic' led to governments stockpiling the anti-flu drug Tamiflu and putting in place 'sleeping contracts' for millions of doses of vaccine
Dr Wodarg said: 'The governments have sealed contracts with vaccine producers where they secure orders in advance and take upon themselves almost
all the responsibility.
'In this way the producers of vaccines are sure of enormous gains without having any financial risks.
'So they just wait, until WHO says "pandemic" and activate the contracts.'
He also claims that to further push their interests, leading drug companies placed 'their people' in the 'cogs' of the WHO and other influential
organisations.
Page 5 of 12
Sue Armitage with her children Daisy and Ralph who could not go on holiday after
catching swine flu
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He added that their influence could have led the WHO to soften its definition of a pandemic - leading to the declaration of a worldwide outbreak last
June.
Dr Wodarg said: 'In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies have influenced scientists and official
agencies, responsible for public health standards, to alarm governments worldwide.
'They have made them squander tight healthcare resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly exposed millions of healthy people to the risk
of unknown side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines.'
He does not name any Britons with conflicts of interest.
But last year, the Daily Mail revealed that Sir Roy Anderson, a scientist who advises the Government on swine flu, also holds a 116,000-a-year post on
the board of GlaxoSmithKline.
GSK makes anti-flu drugs and vaccines and is predicted to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic.
A young girl is given an inoculation at a medical centre in Cockermouth, England.

Millions were given vaccines against swine flu, with pharmaceutical companies being
paid huge sums by the government
Page 7 of 12
The Department of Health says that although the disease appears to be on the wane, it cannot rule out a third surge and urges all those entitled to the jab
to have it.
Professor David Salisbury, the Government's head of immunisation said there were 'no grounds whatsoever' for Dr Wodarg's claims, saying people with
conflicts of interest were kept out of the decision-making process.
A GSK spokesman said: 'Allegations of undue influence are misguided and unfounded. The WHO declared that H1N1 swine flu met the criteria for a
pandemic.
'As WHO have stated, legal regulations and numerous safeguards are in place to manage possible conflicts of interest.'
Page 8 of 12
The company, which still employs Sir Roy, said he had declared his commercial interests and had not attended any meetings related to the purchase of
drugs or vaccine for either the Government or GSK.
Comments (316)
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This is what I knew and commented on many months ago. Our government just spent more of out money on medication that was not needed in those quantities. Its money gone to
these huge companies. I bet they will be having a big bonus too,.. thanks to the stupidity of this goverment.
How were all the swine flu statistics complied? By hard facts from doctors or the phone lines. I never took swine flu seriously and I would not have given my son any swine flu vacine
shots either. THis is life,.. people get flu and some die from it who are vunerable. It wasn't a pandamic in my view.
When this government talks about global warming, I know its just more lies and spin. Its just a way of taking more taxes for their bad financial planning.
Rating 318
- mutal bilah, uk, 10/1/2010 23:54

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To which we could add AIDS, Mad Cow Disease, Avian Flue, MMR scares, Global Cooling , Global Warming and any number of "Scares" over the past 20 years that amounted to
nothing. The common denominator is our dumb politicians that are either in someone's pocket or are just plain stupid. In the case of the UK we can safely assume that our illustious PM
falls into the latter category. Throw some taxpayer money at the problem and be seen to be doing something. It even manages to fool 30% of the electorate!
Rating 261
- alimac, berkshire, 10/1/2010 23:30

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Gee, I could have told them about this swine flu scam when it first came out. Wait a minute, I did tell this paper and a lot of them in the U.S. that it was a scam. I see it did a lot of good.
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- sparkey, Hattiesburg MS, USA, 10/1/2010 23:54

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"He also claims that to further push their interests, leading drug companies placed 'their people' in the 'cogs' of the WHO and other influential organisations."
Page 9 of 12
"But last year, the Daily Mail revealed that Sir Roy Anderson, a scientist who advises the Government on swine flu, also holds a 116,000-a-year post on the board of GlaxoSmithKline."
"He added that their influence could have led the WHO to soften its definition of a pandemic - leading to the declaration of a worldwide outbreak last June."
Anyone who advises Government should be vetted for financial links with any company who may gain from the advice given. And no company or Politician for that matter should be
immune from prosecution as well.
We have been well and truly ripped off. But most of us have been saying this all along. Shame all the people who have slagged us of were so blind.
Rating 206
- paul, Melton U.K., 10/1/2010 23:49

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Thanks for the reminder. I'd completely forgotten that I would succumb to swine flu what with all of this pesky global warming.
Rating 187
- Steve, Bedford, 10/1/2010 23:29

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No? Really?? (please read in sarcastic intonation).
All I'm waiting for now is the statistics on deaths and other adverse affects on people who took these drugs. Let's see if it works out at more deaths than people SAID to have been killed
by Swine Flu.
Rating 173
- Cllr Chris Cooke, Tamworth, UK, 10/1/2010 23:32

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The 'false' pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu, claims Euro health chief | Mail

A young girl is given an inoculation at a medical centre in Cockermouth, England.

- mutal bilah, uk, 10/1/2010 23:54

- alimac, berkshire, 10/1/2010 23:30

- sparkey, Hattiesburg MS, USA, 10/1/2010 23:54

- paul, Melton U.K., 10/1/2010 23:49

- Steve, Bedford, 10/1/2010 23:29

- Cllr Chris Cooke, Tamworth, UK, 10/1/2010 23:32

British soldiers 'tortured and murdered Iraqi grandmother'

MOST READ IN DETAIL

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

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