• Two new reports suggest they did. Last year, swine flu, or H1N1, was treated as the second coming of the black plague. A couple of new reports suggest the people making the recommendations to WHO had ties to the drug industry, and those recommendations led to governments wasting millions of dollars on H1N1 vaccines that would never actually get used. “We are left wondering whether major public health organizations are able to effectively manage the conflicts of interest that are inherent in medical science,” one report says. So, who’s the swine now? source

• 57M number of people that got swine flu in the U.S. since the outbreak began last April
• 257k number of people that had to be hospitalized as a result of a strong swine flu case
• 12k number of people that died as a result of getting swine flu, which isn’t really that bad

A little perspective on H1N1:

• 35,000 people usually die from the flu yearly

• » Demographic changes: H1N1 is an odd outbreak, because while it has killed far fewer people than a traditional outbreak, many of those people are younger than 65, a change from traditional influenza, which is often deadlier for the elderly.
• » Did swine flu replace the normal flu? One of the things that researchers found was that most people who they tested with flu symptoms had swine flu, not a normal strain. Which suggests that the swine flu outbreak may have neutered a normal flu season.
• » More’s still on the way: We’re still not out of the woods yet. Flu activity, whether H1N1 or traditional, is still expected for several more months. As long as we don’t have to pull Dustin Hoffman to save the day again. source

• 70 million out of 120 million doses have been used source

• 50 million piggies went back to the manufacturer source

• 800,000 piggies got recalled source

• Really, Rush? This week on “Fox News Sunday,” the network gave Rush Limbaugh a chat similar in style to Obama’s sitdown chat a month or two ago on other networks. The best nugget is where he says that Sarah Palin’s ready to be, uh, president.
  
  
• Wild thingGen. Stanley McChrystal’s darkest mark on his record is his link to the hiding of Pat Tillman’s friendly fire death. Here, “Into the Wild” author Jon Krakauer calls McChrystal’s denial of a Tillman cover-up “preposterous” and “unbelievable.”
  
  
• Swine foolIn an interview with Russia Today, everyone’s favorite crazy old guy, Ron Paul, goes on and on about how the U.S.-funded swine flu vaccine was a bad idea and a huge waste of money. We don’t say this very often, but: Shut up, Ron Paul.
  
  

• Ever try sucking your own blood? Especially if you’re sick? That’s what the Miami-Dade Health Department is suggesting to kids going trick-or-treating tonight. Basically, they want kids to cough/sneeze into their elbows to protect other kids from swine flu germs. We think this is terrible advice, because one of these kids is going to be a vampire and draw their own blood. And if they do have swine flu, that little piggy’s gonna run through their bloodstream even quicker. A better bet would to come up with a last-second swine flu costume. This little piggy went to get some candy. This little piggy didn’t stay home. source

• 5.7 million likely H1N1 sufferers between May and July source

• 46
  states currently have widespread levels of swine flu running through their populations; 1,000 people have died so far
• 16 million doses of swine flu vaccine have made their way to the states; they expected ten times this amount by now source