The Blame Game

It appears that society is too quick to ascribe blame when things go wrong. Usually the people who submit to blaming others for problems look everywhere except themselves. If we only lived in a perfect world everything would be under our control. Unfortunately, this is not reality and there are many things out of the control of the authorities. Take for example the confusion about the vaccination program for the H1N1 virus. Was it realistic for the health authorities to expect that the whole country could be vaccinated all at once? In actual fact that was not the expectation and the authorities tried to make it clear that the program would need to take place over a period of time. Best estimates at the time for vaccine production were given and plans were created for what they thought would be an orderly program to get everyone vaccinated who wanted the vaccine. What they did not expect or had no control over was the uncertainty of supply, media hype and the need to frequently change instructions.

The media played an unwarranted role in reporting, sometimes in a very cynical manner, the confusion, changing instructions and short comings of the supply of the vaccine. For days and weeks the media would report the smallest glitch in a system that annually sees the normal flu take 4,000 lives each year, usually the lives of the elderly. As of October there have been 86 deaths attributed to H1N1 Canada wide. Why, with the relatively small number of deaths so far of H1N1, would the media continue to alarm the population? Granted, any death attributed to this flu strain is serious but it should not be used to create panic. This flu strain needs to be put in perspective so that the population can make an informed decision and react in a reasonable manner.

Another problem that the mass vaccination program is faced with is the change in supply of the vaccine. Many of the decisions regarding production and supply had to be made months in advance under very tight time frames. Apparently as time went on production switched to an unadjuvanted form of the vaccine leaving the adjuvanted vaccine in short supply and delaying the delivery of the vaccine to the non-vulnerable groups which is most of the population. Health authorities were concerned that groups like pregnant mothers and children between 6 months and 5 years might be at risk of complications pursuant to the latest research. Obviously health authorities wanted to be sure that these groups were not placed at unnecessary risk.

So why do the media and others engage in the blame game? Is it because it creates excitement and makes for high ratings and sells more newspapers? Lets not blame those who are entrusted to guard our health. Yes, they need to explain the situation as best they can but if you listen carefully you will notice that they usually qualify their statements and stipulate that as the situation changes new information will be passed on. Lets not forget that the health authorities are getting information continually from other parts of the world and from new research which is coming to their attention daily. Lets be more reasonable in our criticism, pay attention and follow their advice.