Can We Survive Flu Epidemic?

Daily Observer

February 2, 1976

Influenza may be the last of the plagues. Every 10 years or so, mysteriously, variants of the influenza type A virus cause pandemics, which is another word for world-wide epidemics. The Hong Kong flu of 1968 killed 60,000 Americans. Ten years prior to that, Asian Flu swept around the world and most of us are old enough to remember it. These epidemics were mild, the disease uncomplicated.

A few weeks ago, a new strain called A-Victoria-3-75 was reported in New Guinea and caused an epidemic of flu with a death toll of 600, a lot of people for a small island.

No statistics, however compare to those of the Spanish Flu which swept the world in 1918-1919, killing at least 20 million world-wide and a half million Americans, which is those days represented one out of every 200 people.

Two years from now will be the deci-anniversary of flu pandemics, so we can expect trouble. Influenza can kill so rapidly that once it was called the “falling sickness” because people dropped over so fast.

Short of killing, it is very debilitating, and is good soil for complications such as pneumonia or bronchitis. It is calculated that in the 1968-0 pandemic, 50 million Americans fell ill, which represents about a quarter of our population.

The point of all of these frightening statistics is that, if the epidemic that is expected in 1978 (plus or minus a year) arrives anywhere near scheduled, the United States of America, which by that year will be spending $30 billion for health, and $100 billion for defense, will not have enough hospital beds.

The hospital beds are being rung out of the nation, tightly controlled by the coercive collusion of Blue Cross and Medicare, with the support of federal and state governments. New hospital beds can be built, but neither Blue Cross nor Medicare will pay for a patient in a new hospital unless the beds were constructed under the certificate of need. Even today, with no epidemic lurking, patients with cancer must wait six weeks to two months in most communities before they can enter a hospital for surgery. Although no health crisis exists, one seems to be building up, because the aged do not come to hospitals with simple problems, but with multiple system diseases that cascade into one another, to prolong a hospital stay far beyond that of the younger person hospitalized for a single disease.

As a result, the hospitals are bulging at the seams, beds are in short supply, and personnel work under considerable strain.

What then will happen if, on top of all this, a serious influenza epidemic strikes? We have controlled the health system so stringently, that there is no slack, no surplus, no reserve for catastrophe.

A government that stints on hospital beds, particularly one such as ours which has been a profligate spender, is either unaware or cruel. Since we the people are the government, we must assume that we do not willingly inflict cruelties on ourselves, so the proper conclusion is that we are unaware.

It is time now to become aware. To the seven deadly sins, your friendly government has added another – an empty hospital bed.

If we the people do not start leading our leaders, then what was the point of breaking away from King George in the first place?