Summary
Regarding to the outbreak of H1N1 back in 2009, Molloy, B – “Pandemic or panic?” (2010), and Grove, E – “Hindsight is easy” (2010), sustain different points of view. For Molloy, the WHO overreacted and the decisions made were excessive; plus, it turned out not to be that serious and the money expenditure was not justified. On the other hand, Grove states that the overreaction was justified due to the fact that cases were being reported every day. Nevertheless, both authors certainly agree that there was mismanagement during the pandemic, and it is necessary to evaluate the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the decision-making process.
Discussion
Firstly, both authors agree on the mismanagement during the pandemic and its results in terms of the supply of the vaccination to the countries; there were countries oversupplied and other struggling to meet the demand. The lack of effective management may have contributed to the measures adopted, countries without enough medication were desperate because of the number of cases reported everyday, feeling afraid that the situation could turn worst.
Another point with a certain degree of agreement between Molloy and Grove is the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the process. It is normal to take decisions that can be seen as an “overreaction” (Grove 2010) when there is not enough information about the current situation; when it comes to saving people’s lives the kind of decisions made by the WHO are justified. However, history has shown that within the business environment, opportunities like this pandemic led to a conflict of interest; and in most cases, decisions are made with interest behind.
Nonetheless, there are contrary arguments related to the reaction of the WHO when they fought the H1N1 pandemic and the magnitude of it. Fortunately, it turned out to be “a bit of a fizzer” (Molloy 2010) and