When is a pandemic not a pandemic?
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The novel flu virus may be spreading remorselessly across the globe, but the World Health Organization is still no nearer to declaring a pandemic or giving the go-ahead to full-scale influenza A(H1N1) vaccine production. Indeed, if the WHO heeds calls from some of its member states to change the criteria it uses to declare a pandemic, it could make the timing of the go-ahead for vaccine manufacture even more uncertain.