swineflu update: European Council to investigate WHO pandemia warnings

[Abooga]

Swineflu HOAX update: European Council to investigate WHO pandemia warnings

According to this (spanish mainstream) magazine I was just reading, (http://xlsemanal.finanzas.com/web/articulo.php?id=52218&id_edicion=4887&salto_pagina=0)
there is going to be in investigation, from the "European Council" (first time I hear about them), into the pandemia warnings released by the WHO.

WOLFGANG WODARG, president of the Health Commision of the European Council suspects there have been influences from pharmaceutical companies to exaggerate the problem and make huge quantities of money in the proccess.

Apparently a certain ALBERT OSTERHAUS is behind the alarmist warnings that got repeated by the WHO and is described in this article as a rather suspicious character (with links to pharmaceutical companies and conflicts of interest)

Also mentioned is Cochrane collaborator TOM JEFFERSON who thinks that the recent flu panic "has something to do with the influence of the pharmaceutical industry."

(http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,637119,00.html)

After all, perhaps it´s true that we have been conned?

I have no time right now to translate more parts of the article, but since posters here seem to know quite a lot about this issue I´d love to hear your thoughts...

 

[Dancing David]

Except for the fact that the profit margin on vaccines is very low and that it is a pandemic.

 

[Capsid]

The article is in Spanish. Why do they claim Osterhaus is suspicious?

 

[Kuko 4000]

Now that the vaccine has not caused any unusual side-effects the Finnish woo crowd is jumping on this, here's a link to Wodarg's homepage, the article is in English:

http://www.wodarg.de/english/2948146.html

Council of Europe will investigate and debate on "Faked Pandemic"

In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies influenced scientists and official agencies, responsible for public health standards to alarm governments worldwide and make them squander tight health resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly expose millions of healthy people to the risk of an unknown amount of side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines.

 

[Abooga]

Except for the fact that the profit margin on vaccines is very low and that it is a pandemic.

Well, according to this Mr. Tom Jefferson "...The big money from the pharmaceuticals industry is [...] against influenza. [...] It makes sure that research on influenza is published in the good journals. And that's why you have more attention being paid there, and the entire research field becomes interesting for ambitious scientists."

 

[Abooga]

The article is in Spanish. Why do they claim Osterhaus is suspicious?

According to the article "Osterhaus´ reputation began to tumble with a Dutch Public TV (VPRO) report, which "Science" magazine echoed, that uncovered that he is a major shareholder in ViroClinics, a biotechnology company that has a contract with the giant pharmaceutical company GSK to research the new flu vaccines"

[...]

"An appeal for the Dutch goivernment to break all ties with Osteerhaus was rejected but a new law will force scientists to reveal if they have interests in private companies".

[...]

"But Osterhaus is not the only one being investigated. Danish Dagbladet newspaper denounces that other members of the SAGE and experts of the WHO also receive succulent tips from the pharmaceuticals [...] at least four more members of the SAGE, whose criteria should be independent and exclusively based on scientific evidence have proven links with pharmaceutical multinationals"

And then it says that the WHO is funded by pharmaceuticals, that it is not funded by the European governments only.

Enough translating for today.

 

[Dancing David]

Well funny thing, economists and the drug makers say the profit margin in vaccines is low.

 

[Abooga]

Now that the vaccine has not caused any unusual side-effects the Finnish woo crowd is jumping on this, here's a link to Wodarg's homepage, the article is in English:

http://www.wodarg.de/english/2948146.html

I don´t think it´s just the woo crowd. Is it woo to suspect that there may be corrupt "experts" that pass on misinformation to the WHO in order to earn some money? I would call woo to thinking of any organism as incorruptible...

 

[Abooga]

Well funny thing, economists and the drug makers say the profit margin in vaccines is low.

Could be, but a small margin with very large production quantities amounts to a lot of cash...

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Except for the fact that the profit margin on vaccines is very low and that it is a pandemic.

From our friends at Wikipedia: Pandemic^WP

A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.

Of course it was a pandemic. I can answer that question by reading a dictionary but I would be happy to participate in the "investigation" at twice my regular daily rate.

 

[Kuko 4000]

I don´t think it´s just the woo crowd. Is it woo to suspect that there may be corrupt "experts" that pass on misinformation to the WHO in order to earn some money? I would call woo to thinking of any organism as incorruptible...

Well, I'm calling it how I see it, the same crowd that was warning people about the dangers of the vaccine, and the same crowd that has for the last 10 years (at least) promoted all kinds of nonsense are now pushing this as the next big conspiracy. It's coming from the usual sources here, that's why I'm calling it a crowd. Their approach is very different from an open interest.

Btw. Here is WHO's reply:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2010/h1n1_pandemic_20100122/en/index.html

Additional allegations that WHO created a 'fake' pandemic to bring economic benefit to industry are scientifically wrong and historically incorrect.

 

[Estellea]

An interview with Dr. Wodarg.

Este

 

[Uncayimmy]

Well funny thing, economists and the drug makers say the profit margin in vaccines is low.

Which is why you need to sell a bunch of them to make it worth your while. I'm not saying there is any conspiracy here. I'm just saying that that a low profit margin doesn't make it less of a motive. In fact, it is makes more of a motive. Thing is, money as a motive is always there.

 

[Andrikos]

There is so much money involved on this . This is a paper available on Pubmed named "Arabian nights-1001 tales of how pharmaceutical companies cater to the material needs of doctos: case report" by Giannakakis and Ioannidis , so revealing and very worrying. I think it's worth at least a read.

 

[fls]

There is so much money involved on this . This is a paper available on Pubmed named "Arabian nights-1001 tales of how pharmaceutical companies cater to the material needs of doctos: case report" by Giannakakis and Ioannidis , so revealing and very worrying. I think it's worth at least a read.

Umm...I don't know if you are aware of this, but the Christmas issue of the BMJ is not a serious offering, but rather meant for entertainment (some other journals, such as CMAJ, do this as well).

Linda

 

[Kuko 4000]

An interview with Dr. Wodarg.

Este

Thanks Este,

I'd like to know more about this:

Wolfgang Wodarg: Yes, we shall study the attitude of the institutes, such as the Robert Koch in Germany, or the Pasteur in France, that really should have advised their governments in a critical manner. In some countries, the institutes did just that. In Finland or Poland, for example, critical voices were raised to say: "We don’t need that."

Can't think of any serious institutes that said that over here.

 

[Andrikos]

Umm...I don't know if you are aware of this, but the Christmas issue of the BMJ is not a serious offering, but rather meant for entertainment (some other journals, such as CMAJ, do this as well).

Linda

No I didn't , thanx .Correct me if I am wrong but you are suggesting that this is an "entertainment" paper?

This particular paper sounds pretty serious imo, don 't be prejudiced by the time it was published!

 

[Dancing David]

Could be, but a small margin with very large production quantities amounts to a lot of cash...

Maybe you should investigate the general profit margins and why there are so few vaccine producers?

Look at the profit margin on Nexium and Viagra.

 

[fls]

No I didn't , thanx .Correct me if I am wrong but you are suggesting that this is an "entertainment" paper?

Yes. There are many clues in the text that liberties are being taken. For example, "case report of memoirs", "this ridiculous piece" (in reference to the article), the whole bit with the dancing, half-naked girl, etc.

Other offerings from that issue:

"Streptokinase versus alteplase and other treatments for acute and delayed thrombolysis of blood stains in clothing"

"Do animals bite more during a full moon? Retrospective observational analysis"

"Barking mad? Another lunatic hypothesis bites the dust"

"Hamster Health Care"

Linda

 

[Andrikos]

Yes. There are many clues in the text that liberties are being taken. For example, "case report of memoirs", "this ridiculous piece" (in reference to the article), the whole bit with the dancing, half-naked girl, etc.

Other offerings from that issue:

"Streptokinase versus alteplase and other treatments for acute and delayed thrombolysis of blood stains in clothing"

"Do animals bite more during a full moon? Retrospective observational analysis"

"Barking mad? Another lunatic hypothesis bites the dust"

"Hamster Health Care"

Linda

Yes , in terms of the language used I see your point. Language is inappropriate for a politically correct paper.Still the situation described is not funny , 100% real and is still taking place.