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Even though the panic over H1N1 is at a fever pitch right now, it likely that the entire issue will have moved to the boneyard of memorabilia with other vaccines. Policymakers have learned that these issues have a finite shelf life because of the short attention span of Americans.

Most people recall all the commotion in recent years over SARS, Avian flu, anthrax, and smallpox that only lasted as long as needed for the funds to be allocated for vaccines and drugs. Once this occurs there’s not motivation for fanning the flames to a pandemic hysteria. After all, this sort of media campaign costs a lot of money and requires a great deal of effort, particularly when the disease never even existed.

If people were to be paying moderate attention to the emergencies that appear on a regular basis they would become desensitized to the urgency of these situations. They forget that we all survived the last scare and will very likely survive the current one as well.

LICENSED AND UNTESTED. This is precisely where the present danger from the current swine flu immunization lies. The swine flu vaccine is being introduced to the public and immunization has begun for children. Five manufacturers started in August of 2009 and aren’t expected to be complete until April of 2010. This is an amazing lesson in the vaccine politics of the country. The FDA approved this untested vaccine in September of 2009, one month after testing started.

This scenario is a lot like what happened in 1976 with the swine flu fiasco. 565 people were paralyzed and 21 died in ten weeks before the vaccine was pulled and never replaced. Why wasn’t the vaccine replaced with one that have been thoroughly tested? Did the threat magically disappear with the untested vaccine?

It’s becoming very clear that natural selection favors the lines of parents that take precautions to safeguard and protect the immunity of their children. Will the FDA come forward before testing a vaccine prior to making a decision or does the responsibility lie solely on the research that’s been submitted by the companies who will make millions if the vaccine is approved?

The vaccine manufacturers, who have been granted 100% immunity from liability for any deaths or injuries? The other regulatory agencies – NIH, CDC, HHS – whose political connections to the vaccine companies are a matter of public record?

This is exactly what causes urgency, the hyperbole and misdirection. They realize that they won’t have time to fully test a vaccine because this takes about a year. By the time they have fully tested a vaccine, the imaginary disease will have disappeared, without hope of resurrection. Immunization is a here and now market. If a vaccine isn’t quickly added to the recommended immunization schedule, the media, regulators, manufacturers, and clinics won’t receive their reward.

Swine flu immunization is highly recommended to be done through your family doctor. Ask doctor about the immunization schedule, which may happen summer of 2010.