Who will live, who will die?

Posted by anon on October 05, 2005, 05:01 PM | #

The idea of a pan epidemic sweeping across the west is almost certainly wrong. A lot of it is beat up from vestd interests. Its analogous to the global warming mass hysteria.

Posted by Phil on October 05, 2005, 05:32 PM | #

And, I am sure, that our neoconservative masters will make well sure that their “special interest group” is not left without protection.

That special interest group is safe because it produces a disproportionate number of medical practitioners in the US (and also Britain). Therefore most members of that group would either be able to get vaccines because they are medical practitioners or because they have cousins who are.

Someone once asked me why male Gentile babies in America are routinely circumcised (even when this is not necessary). This has to do with the ethnic group that dominates the medical profession.

Posted by Liberallarry on October 05, 2005, 07:26 PM | #

“There has been a lot of talk in the media..”

Manufacturing consent is one of U.S. media’s prime goals. If they continually bombard their viewers with visions of a pandemic, then the viewers will grow frightened and demand action. In this case, action would be to create more vaccines.

Follow the money - Who’s to make money in this case? Well, drug companies would make a killing. But the money can’t just be created from nowhere anymore - due to the current (growing) deficit, US cred just aint the same as it used to be. If we had the surplus of the 90’s, then this sort of spending would be very easy to provide.

And nobody would ever like the idea of our military to enforce a foolish policy, so most likely, vaccine output will increase. That’s a lot more profit for the drug companies of course.

Then again, if the pandemic were real, and vaccines were not created, then order would be necessary. Prez Bush said that enacting Martial Law may be necessary, even though no one has died from the flu yet. This is a knee-jerk policy desicion, and it’s making a lot of people uneasy..

..Once again, Bush has failed on relieving fear - instead, they have just created more of it. The flu hasn’t even broken out yet, but if it does break out, there will not be enough medicine, and troops will keep us detained..

Posted by Matra on October 05, 2005, 08:01 PM | #

Once again, Bush has failed on relieving fear - instead, they have just created more of it.

I doubt Bush & Co. would consider creating more fear to be a failure.

Posted by Welleran on October 05, 2005, 10:42 PM | #

The idea of a pan epidemic sweeping across the west is almost certainly wrong.

You have no freaking clue what you are talking about.

The H5N1 virus is a type that humans have no measured immunity to, because - as far as we know - we have never experienced any flu strains of that particular type.  It WILL become human communicable, because the flu is a virus that does a lot of mutating and sooner or later it will hit on the right “key” for human cells.  It already can make the jump to humans as we can see from the deaths in SE Asia; all it needs is to be able to rely purely on humans for transmission.  Once it does that and becomes easily communicable among humans, it therefore can and will be devastating - ordinary flu outbreaks sweep through populations fast enough; imagine a usual flu season, but with a 50% death rate of those who fall sick.  It will be even more contagious than normal outbreaks due to the total lack of inherent human immunity.

All of this is as predictable as seeing a boulder teetering on the edge of a cliff, with emptiness on one side and a slope leading upwards on the other, and saying that sooner or later it’s going to fall and it’s going to make quite a smash when it hits bottom.  Comparing it to global warming is ignorant stupidity of the purest sort.

As for the original post: ranting about the preferences granted for political reasons is well and good, but here I think you’re way off into la-la land.  Show me the evidence of a conspiracy to systematically deny vaccine to whites and provide it to dark-skinned people.  Show me the people who knowingly did it.  Show me that it wasn’t just that there were a lot more whites looking for vaccine (this happens when whites are the majority) and therefore correspondingly more of them missed out.  If you can’t show any of that, you’re veering dangerously close to self-delusion. 

Beliefs are important, but they MUST be backed by solid evidence.  Otherwise you are as intellectually bankrupt as the politicans you despise.

Posted by anon on October 05, 2005, 10:50 PM | #

You have no freaking clue what you are talking about

Wanna bet?

Posted by Johan Van Vlaams on October 06, 2005, 04:34 AM | #

The bird flu virus is already mutating: new categories of species get affected, but without becoming less dangerous. Why should the virus then be less dangerous when infecting men mutually? Most people will die or better have died. I bet it will be much worse than the 1918 pandemic. To compare it with the black death from the Middle Ages is not exaggerated.

Therefore I already have enough Tamiflu pills for me and my family at home. In Belgium it only costs 30 € for one treatment.  I wish you all to do the same.  BTW, on the box is indicated that the expiration date is only three years ahead, but all chemists believe that it will hold at least 5 years. To compare: in Europe much countries have a stockpile in bulk and that even officially holds 10 years.

Posted by JW Holliday on October 06, 2005, 05:18 AM | #

Anon,

We’ve had flu pandemics in the past, including 1968, so I fail to see why one is so impossible now.  Given that the “cognitive elitists” of East Asia are doing everything possible to create the conditions for such an event, it is likely.

Welleren, if you are capable of reading, you’ll see that I was careful to note that all observations made in the post were anecdotal. And speculative.  I have been unable to find racial breakdowns for vaccination; I suspect that if one were to compare a rationed year to an unrationed one, the percentage of vaccinated non-whites would be higher in the former. 

I do hope I am wrong about this, for obvious reasons.  Just going by my own personal observations and those of other people I know, it seems like a concerted effort was made last year to get inner-city minorities vaccinated, at the expense of having sufficient vaccine for the white population.  Again, that’s anecdotal.  If stats can show that wrong, that would be a relief.

Although, of course, the government’s negligence in about the whole flu issue is another matter.

Some have suggested that we attempt to stock up on Tamiflu, which requires a doctor’s prescription.  I wonder though if now that will be rationed as well.

Perhaps then, go to the doctor’s office wearing a yarmulke, or in blackface?

Posted by Johan Van Vlaams on October 06, 2005, 05:43 AM | #

For those who still hesitate to buy Tamiflu: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/health/06flu.html?hp&ex=1128657600&en=bf5a28315d998927&ei=5094&partner=homepage

From the New York Times.  BTW, perhaps this explains why so many “liberals” will survive the killer flu. They all have already stockpiled their pills!

Posted by James Bowery on October 06, 2005, 12:06 PM | #

I attempted to get Tamiflu a few months ago—well before the news media were reporting on the bird flu.  I couldn’t find a doctor to prescribe it.  I even tried relatives in the medical profession.

Posted by JW Holliday on October 06, 2005, 12:57 PM | #

I’m sure we are all glad to see that urban Detroit had a surplus of flu vaccine.  Indeed, all the whites who didn’t have access can be comforted by the abundance elsewhere.

And here is an earlier article decrying the lower vaccination rates of blacks.  One wonders what steps the government has, or will, take to eliminate this disparity?  Perhaps they made “great strides” in doing so last year?  In Detroit, at least.

“Greenberg said that the natural reluctance about vaccination might be best combatted with well-promoted personal statements by respected members of the underserved group who endorse and accept vaccination …  The researchers suggest that in order to meet the 90 percent vaccination goal set by Healthy People 2010, culturally appropriate messages about vaccination are needed for underserved communities.  Also, additional resources are needed to help coordinate efforts between public health programs and clinical prevention in managed and primary care.“

Note the surname of “Greenberg” and the interest in promoting vaccination in “underserved” groups.

See more here.

“... especially urge”  Helping the “underserved” – but how exactly?

Here:-

”Eric Schneider, a researcher in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the School of Public Health and a clinician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said of the study findings, “Health plans are helping to boost the numbers of people receiving flu shots, especially compared to fee-for-service providers. However, health plans are not having an impact on racial disparities or the ‘flu shot gap,’ and it’s time to start finding solutions to this problem. One answer is for clinicians to tell patients who are 65 or older to get a flu shot every year.  However, clinicians cannot solve this problem by themselves. Other programs that reach out to the elderly, and especially those that reach out to African Americans are going to be critically important.”

Hmm … ”Schenider?”

More:-

“These organizations also have joined with historically black colleges and universities to develop strategies for boosting immunization rates among African American beneficiaries.”

And:-

“Public health experts are particularly eager to see more African Americans get flu shots this year.”

Just how eager are they?

Data support the fact that the African American community has lower flu immunization rates than other groups. Wilma Wooten, MD, MPH, San Diego Region VI Chair of the NMA says, “This year we want it to be different, we want to see more African Americans protected.” Dr. Wooten adds, “There are a lot of people in our community with diabetes or asthma or heart and lung conditions. These conditions put you at extra risk for flu. Immunization levels for African Americans should be as high as or higher than any other ethnic group.”

And here:

“While the vaccine is a success among all races, the improvement in the U.S. black versus white rate probably reflects the fact that some black children were targeted for the immunization, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said.”

They admit it!

While we are not yet in the realm of strong evidence, my suspicions are further aroused.  Perhaps all the anecdotal evidence from the 2004-2005 flu season had some validity?

Posted by JW Holliday on October 06, 2005, 01:03 PM | #

See here:-

New research shows flu vaccines may not be as effective as previously thought for the elderly and very young. In fact, the best way to protect the elderly from flu-related deaths may be to vaccinate schoolchildren — the biggest spreaders of flu.

But federal health officials are limiting shots this month to seniors and other “high-priority” groups — an approach some influenza experts say is scientifically flawed and perhaps a waste of vaccine.

I agree with this, the problem is that it won’t be your children who will be vaccinated, it will be their children.

Isn’t it interesting that the “underserved” are actually overserved, and any “disparities” that exist are the result of their own stupidity and laziness?

The scenaro: whites unable to get their children vaccinated, while Negroes have a “surplus” of vaccine.

That’s my prediction, anyway ...

Posted by Johan Van Vlaams on October 06, 2005, 01:14 PM | #

Dear James,

Problems with the prescription of Tamiflu?

In Belgium there is no problem, even not when you say it’s against the killer flu.

But Tamiflu also works against each other flu. Why not trying a sly trick?

If that doesn’t work, you perhaps can make use of the “good” old New York Times (10 capsules constitute one treatment): http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=tamiflu&date_select=full&srchst=nyt#

Just become a “liberal” for one night and save your live! Why not?

Posted by tamiflu on March 23, 2006, 11:27 PM | #

For those living in Belgium there is no problem with Tamiflu. But, other countries can’t sale or do a prescription of Tamiflu because they don’t use it for any treatment.