Is the Swine Flu Reaching a State of Emergency?

There have been recent reports in media that the Swine Flu situation has risen to a state of emergency. Some wonder if this is truly the case, while there are others who argue that the Swine flu has had a powerful effect on children. Black doctors have had a great deal to say about the impact of the vaccine on the African American community. Last week, Dr. Elaina George had a lively debate with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on The Michael Baisden Show about the merits of the Swine Flu Vaccine.

I caught up with Dr. George, a Princeton-educated physician, about the alleged state of emergency and she had this to say:

"The numbers of cases of people infected with the H1N1 that have been reported may be inflated. It is hard to confirm the number of cases because since July the states have stopped testing for H1N1 and have stopped counting individual cases at the direction of the CDC.

CBS News produced an investigative report that obtained the lab results of samples obtained from patients with suspected swine flu from 50 states. The results of the tests were "overwhelmingly negative" for both H1N1 and other strains of flu virus. The negative results ranged from 83% in Florida to 97% in Georgia. In other words, these patients did not have the flu in any form. Their symptoms and findings were consistent with the common cold or upper respiratory infection.

It is important to note that these statistics were the last laboratory confirmed results. Since no further widespread confirmatory tests have been done since July, there is no accurate way to determine whether the prevalence of H1N1 has changed. Furthermore, there is no clinical evidence to suggest that the swine flu has mutated to a more severe form since there has been no exponential second wave of infections in states like NY where there were early documented cases last spring.

Two questions still remain. Does the benefit of getting the H1N1 vaccine outweigh the inherent risks such as the neurological effects of Guillain-Barre syndrome? Do the number of cases and the severity make the state of emergency necessary?"

When it comes to the Swine flu, most of us are confused. We can't trust the pharmaceutical companies, who have placed profit maximization ahead of health on their priority lists. It's difficult to trust hospitals and insurance companies. Even worse, these entities now heavily influence our government. It's time for real reform in heath care.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.