Well, despite the media frenzy, it would appear that another major swine flu epidemic has failed to arrive. In fact it seems fatality rates are remarkably low again (government confirms 254 since September) and are most often found in patients with underlying health issues. Although any death is a tragedy that cannot be easily put aside for the families and loved ones of those that have passed, in the interest of balance, we have to admit that the facts are baring no resemblance to the media hysteria about the threat posed by swine flu - or even seasonal flu!
A look through the list of UK mortality rates for 2009 for England and Wales throws up some interesting statistics.
Asthma - 991
Unknown cause - 1233
Dementia from drug use - 1340
Diabetes - 7123
Pneumonia - 26741
Cancers & neoplasms - 140497
Flu - 227
Swine flu - 149
Given the media hype, driven by our government and paid for with our dwindling money during these times of "austerity", isn't it time to ask the awkward questions about this? Especially as this years drama has failed to appear again and the figures remain below those of the 2009 "pandemic".
Why has our government spent vast amounts of our money on vaccines (that have validly questionable health benefits) for yet another scare that hasn't materialized?
Why do such slick communicators, that are well versed in the art of getting exactly what they want into and out of people, choose to inflate media frenzy rather than educate people?
Why as a nation do we not pool ALL available resources in researching and combating the issue (killing almost 1000 times more people) of cancer?
Why do our representatives fail time and again to understand that the reason public confidence is generally so low with politicians is because they fail time and again to represent us?
Most of all, at a time when our pension pots are emptied, our cost of living is spiraling upwards, our health is poor, water unclean, food unfit, education inadequate, tax burden rising, being ignored by our representatives and the poorest paying to support the wealthiest amongst us - why the hell are we so quiet?
