Editorial: H1N1’s troublesome legacy

The pandemonium surrounding H1N1 has, in these recent weeks, taken a hiatus. So, is the threat… The pandemonium surrounding H1N1 has, in these recent weeks, taken a hiatus. So, is the threat over? Maybe. It’s been months since the early waves of H1N1 pervaded every state, and seemingly every city and college, too. It seems that if a more widespread outbreak were to occur, it would have happened by now.

Amid all the hype, countries purchased batches upon batches of the H1N1 vaccine to prepare for the worst. The United States has distributed 160 million of the purchased 251 million doses of the vaccine, and it hasn’t yet decided what to do with the remaining vaccines in light of the possibility of H1N1 resurfacing, according to Time.

Other countries also have a surplus of the vaccine largely because their governments expected a higher demand than was actually needed. The United Kingdom, for example, projected that H1N1 would cause between 50,000 and 750,000 deaths. Time reports the actual British death toll stands at 400.

Some countries believe the World Health Organization set off what has turned out to be a false alarm, and they feel that the billions spent on ordering and distributing vaccines shouldn’t have seemed so urgent. In the aftermath, the economics and exorbitant costs are causing more than a few accusatory questions and pointed fingers — but let’s not forget about what was at stake: human lives.

Regarding global health pandemics, it’s far better to be overly prepared than count on luck or some feigned belief that a serious, global, infectious outbreak couldn’t happen. It’s unfortunate, however, that less wealthy countries made expensive purchases that easily might end up being waste.

Part of the problem relates to a former misunderstanding among health institutions that the vaccine would require two doses to be effective. Once it was discovered that only one dose was needed, countries were left with too many spares. Then again, the whole process of distributing the vaccines could have gone smoother. Here in the U.S., the vaccines faced multiple delivery delays.

The worldwide death toll from H1N1 has surpassed 14,000, according to the WHO — a significant figure, but vastly smaller than numbers conjured up amid the panic. Even when fears settled, predictions were larger than the current figure. All things considered, we’ve been lucky.

Should the disease grow more stagnant and fewer new causes come up, then perhaps the whole scare could be seen as a test of sorts. At least countries have proven they’re willing and able to inoculate their populations, if not always in the most expedient fashion. Still, we hope the world will still take such potentially threatening situations in earnest in the future, even if it means spending extra.

There were legitimate signs of H1N1’s severity, and the hype wasn’t a result of unfounded fear. It was unusually lethal to young and otherwise healthy individuals and spread even when flu season hadn’t begun. While the WHO should stringently reevaluate its measures and orders relating to the H1N1 pandemic, countries should be counting their blessings in human lives instead of dollars.