Remember how devastating Swine Flu was going to be? 2009 repeats 1976 No originality in public relations strategies

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September, 2008 I was interviewed by a Fox reporter about getting flu shots. I expounded upon the Swine Flu vaccination program of 1976 and how vaccine makers used President Jerry Ford (sorry, I had a journalism professor who was his good friend and always called him Jerry) to get rich.

The Fox reporter wrote me off as crazy. Less than a year after that interview, the world was going crazy with the 2009 Swine Flu epidemic – the highest alert the World Health Organization has ever issued.

What happened to that epidemic? According to Wikipedia, which describes the 1976 vaccination as the Swine Flu fiasco, the government spent $135-million 1976 dollars because a soldier died in 1975. Tell me vaccine makers didn’t become rich.

Repeat same process in 2009 Public relations is a fantastic thing. You can use the same tactics over and over without any originality. People die from Tylenol, recall the product. People die from Toyotas, issue a recall. Management, stockholders and the public buy it!

The U.S.A. spent $2-billion in 2009 for 250-million doses of the vaccine. No, I did not get the shot. I reported on the 1976 vaccine – fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, as the old saying goes. As in 1976, tell me swine flu vaccine manufacturers are not enjoying pina coladas with AIG executives and other bankers all getting rich off YOUR tax dollars. Remember that as you file your taxes this year. There were 15,000 reported swine flu deaths worldwide from the 2009 epidemic. The Center for Disease Control reports 17,000 to 52,000 U.S. citizens die annually due to regular flu.

Who was the crazy one when I was interviewed by the Fox reporter – me for spouting off about the 1976 swine flu fiasco or the reporter for not running with the story? He would have been the first. Marketing $ociology is such a wonderful thing. It’s almost like looking into the future.