# 5498
We are just now coming up on the 2-year anniversary of the emergence of the novel H1N1 `swine’ flu virus which sparked the first pandemic of the 21st century.
Although the pandemic has been officially declared over since last August, agencies and investigators continue to review what went right and what went wrong in our global response.
Last month (see IHR Review Committee Report On The Pandemic Of 2009) we saw an independent review of the World Health Organization’s pandemic response that gave the organization a mixed grade; finding that the WHO did well in some areas and not as well in others.
This month the World Health Organization has released a glossy new 15-minute video showing their behind-the-scenes efforts to deploy pandemic influenza vaccine to developing nations around the globe.
A VACCINE STORY is more of a promotional film than a documentary, and understandably shows this vaccine distribution program in the best possible light.
It does, however, give the viewer a look at some of the logistics involved in delivering a vaccine to poorer nations during a pandemic.
(Click image to Open Youtube Video)
While this film stresses that this program managed to get roughly 78 million doses of vaccine distributed to 77 developing nations, that fell far short of the goals announced at the start of the pandemic.
Late last month Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO, focused attention on some of the external obstacles they faced in this admittedly complex and difficult endeavor.
WHO blames drug industry for swine flu vaccine delay
Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:51pm GMT
* WHO's Chan blames others for delay in vaccine distribution
* Agency distributed 78 million doses to 77 poor countries
In my next blog I’ll take a look at some of the difficulties of vaccine distribution encountered during the last pandemic, and the prospects for deployment should another virus emerge in the near future.
