The Danger of Regulatory Capture

I recently read this article about the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic.  It is a good bit of journalism showing how government health organizations like the WHO and pharmaceutical companies are tied together.  Experts work on both sides of the aisle in order to set definitions of what a pandemic is.  They also create plans about how to respond when they occur.  In those plans the types and amounts of medications which will be purchased are written.  That means companies that develop and sell new vaccines and anti-viral therapies have every incentive to be active in getting their products written into the plans.

It should also be noted that health organizations are also the ones who communicate when a pandemic is occurring and what needs to be done about it.  In the US that organization is the CDC, but every country has something similar.  What happens when the people who dictate our health situation also are the ones making money on selling medical products to us to fight the disease?  As that process continues to develop over time, how far can it go?  Can they force people to buy a vaccine?  Well the US government already forced us citizens to buy health insurance, after working with health insurance companies to create the Affordable Healthcare Act.  Even if they don't force us to take the pill, don't they have the power to set up a situation where people are convinced to want to take a medication, even if  the health threat level isn't all that high or the medication isn't all that effectual?

The article in the link is long and focuses on the EU.  But I encourage you to read it.  The same conflicts of interest exist all over the world.  They weren't removeded after the article was written in 2010.  

WHO and the pandemic flu "conspiracies"

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